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00:00Look, a big part of our show moving forward is we're going to try to set up shows where we take questions from our audience.
00:07John and I, I'll speak for John here.
00:09We're always appreciative of how many people listen, and in this case, send in questions.
00:13We're going to answer a few of these here.
00:15Let's open it up with Carson Matthew on Twitter.
00:19He asks, on a scale of 1 to 10, what are your thoughts on Carson Bench starting in left field for my New York Mets?
00:24I guess I could say zero because Soto is going to be the left fielder.
00:29But I would, at no lower than 50%, and as much as 75%, that he'll be the starting right fielder.
00:36John, it seems to me that Stearns wants to make an imprint with young players by breaking in a few every year.
00:44And the Mets internally see Carson Bench as one of the 10 best prospects in the sport, and they want him to break through.
00:51I think if he shows it in spring training, he's going to be starting against Paul Skeens on March 26th.
00:57What do you think?
00:58Yeah, I think you're right.
00:59I think Bench will be the right fielder, so I think the answer is yes to that because we didn't know, obviously, when he sent that question in, that Soto was now moving to left field.
01:09So, yeah, they believe in Bench, another Oklahoma State guy.
01:14I'm getting NBA mixed up like Utah.
01:17I love the NBA.
01:18But Oklahoma State guy like McClain, another huge prospect for the Mets, and they really believe in him.
01:25So, hopefully, the proof's in the pudding.
01:27We'll see.
01:27This year, I do believe.
01:29Yeah.
01:30Next question is from Ryan underscore H67, also from Twitter.
01:35What are your expectations for the Mets this season, and do you think they lack something to be a winning team?
01:39Why don't you take that one first, John?
01:41Yeah, I mean, I think they should be, the expectations should be similar to last year.
01:45I mean, in terms of the expectations there were last year, not how they finished.
01:49I think they look like about a 90-win team.
01:51I know they had 91 last year.
01:52I think they're probably about the same this year.
01:55Obviously, the Dodgers are the heavy favorite.
01:58They've, you know, made a lot of changes.
02:01They don't have as much power.
02:02They have more contact, a little better defensively.
02:05I like the rotation a little bit more.
02:07I like the bullpen a little bit less.
02:10All in all, they look about the same to me.
02:12Now, you know, hopefully, for their sake, they don't have that kind of slow drip disaster that we saw over the last four months of last season.
02:21I don't know that anybody can repeat that, but they should win 90 games, but they should have won 90 last year.
02:27Yeah, you know, one thing to keep in mind is we could get myopic, and fans could get myopic at this time of year.
02:33I did notice Spencer Schwellenbach is going to miss significant time for the Braves.
02:38He was supposed to be in their rotation.
02:40They have a lot of injuries to begin the year.
02:42You know, their catcher, Sean Murphy, a few of their pitches, etc.
02:48Their shortstop, Kim, won't begin the year.
02:50So that's that.
02:52Dave Dombrowski of the Phillies mentioned that Zach Wheeler will not start the season in the Phillies rotation.
02:58They're out still looking for starters.
02:59So that's the two teams they probably are going to have to beat out again to do something.
03:03Having said that, John, the one thing I would say is I'm not comfortable with the bullpen right now.
03:10I think fully healthy.
03:11They have really good left-handers in Minter and Raley.
03:15And then I have a lot of questions about everything else.
03:18I know the underlying numbers on Devin Williams were good last year, but Devin Williams was not good last year.
03:24Luke Weaver was not nearly as good last year as the year before.
03:29Let's see if they could stabilize the back of the game from the right side.
03:33And with Edwin Diaz gone, who felt like a guy who was on the doorstep, if they were probably a little more loving and aggressive to bring back, and they didn't.
03:43And that's a big question I have for the Mets.
03:47I'm going to spell the back end of this because I don't want to get anyone in trouble.
03:52So Richard Cuccia, you pronounce it how you'd like on Twitter.
03:57The lack of quality at bats at the bottom of the Yankees order.
04:00We'll go with Kuk.
04:00Kuk.
04:01Okay.
04:02Richard Kuk.
04:02The lack of quality at bats at the bottom of the Yankees order is the one thing that bothers me about having the same lineup as last year.
04:11And I want to add this.
04:12Big fan of the podcast.
04:13Exclamation point.
04:15I like Kuk.
04:16Thank you, Richard.
04:17Thank you, Richard.
04:18John, go ahead.
04:19Why don't you take that?
04:20I mean, I think it's typical of any lineup.
04:23I mean, you're not going to have superstars at the bottom of the lineup.
04:26Ryan McMahon is good against righties, not lefties.
04:30They'll have Ahmed Rosario, who's good against lefties.
04:33They'll have, obviously, shortstop is not, Volpe has not lived up to the expectations.
04:40He wasn't as good in year three as he was in the previous two years.
04:43I mean, I think Wells is above average catcher, hitting catcher, even if he isn't what people were hoping for offensively.
04:50He has obviously done it defensively, but offensively, I still think he's above average for catcher.
04:56So I don't think that's a big concern.
04:58My concern with the Yankees is, as your concern is with the Mets, and I agree with you on that, is the bullpen.
05:04I think neither bullpen is fantastic.
05:07And, you know, I said in the middle of last year, I had some scouts telling me the bullpen's not so good with the Yankees,
05:11and it proved to be not what it should have been.
05:15It should have been better with the names that they did have.
05:18Yeah, I think there's a lot of duplication at the bottom of the Yankee lineup in that it's low batting average, high strikeout.
05:24But the end result is the Yankees led the league in scoring last year.
05:27I think they're returning eight guys who hit 20 homers last year.
05:31So some of that will be from the bottom of the lineup.
05:33I think a full year at Caballero's speed will help.
05:37The righty diversification of Rosario for a full season and Goldschmidt back should help.
05:43Does Rice take a big step forward?
05:45John, I'm with you.
05:46The identity of their bullpen is more concerning to me when I look at the Yankees than the lineup.
05:52I think they'll score plenty of runs.
05:53I think they'll be a top five offense again.
05:55This is from Zach Goldstein, 24, also from Twitter.
05:58Why haven't the Yankees targeted the bullpen this offseason?
06:01Oh, well, he's reading our mind.
06:03They say they aren't running it back, but that's most of their offseason.
06:06But their pen looks really shaky, and I don't think it has much after the top three names.
06:11John, do we need to go any further on this?
06:12Do you think we covered this?
06:14I think we covered that.
06:15He's perceptive.
06:17I think we all have concerns about the bullpen, both bullpens.
06:20Right.
06:22Broadcasting Max on Twitter, John, asked,
06:24if you guys had to pick two teams that made the playoffs last year that you think won't get to October this year,
06:31who would they be?
06:32Well, I'll start with the Reds.
06:35You know, it was a surprise last year that they made it.
06:39And, you know, I'll throw out the Phillies.
06:41They're getting a little bit older.
06:42So I'll go with those two in the National League.
06:46We've got to think the Mets are going to make it, right?
06:48So they're going to take one spot.
06:50I mean, I'm not going to say the Phillies are, you know, not going to make it for sure.
06:53But if I was asked two teams, those are the two I'm going to pick.
06:56Yeah, I think the Reds are kind of like chalk on this.
07:01So I'm going to go ahead and pick the Reds also.
07:05You know what?
07:06You pick the Reds.
07:07So I'll say Cleveland.
07:09Why don't I pick two teams who somehow figure it out every year and will probably figure it out this year,
07:14which is Cleveland and Milwaukee.
07:15Like, I don't know how Milwaukee keeps bleeding players and still wins 90-something games, whatever their secret sauce is.
07:23Cleveland also, I guess, part of the magic is they're both in central divisions, which are not as powerful as the coastal divisions, you know, are.
07:32But at some point, I'll say the magic will run out for both teams, both of whom did less than more or gave up more this offseason.
07:41And I just think at some point that's got to catch up to you.
07:45So, yeah, I mean, I want to give Milwaukee some credit now that you say that.
07:49I think that they, yes.
07:50Yeah, I mean, they were dominant against, you know, every division.
07:55You have the best team in baseball in the regular season, right?
07:57It's not just the central, but I mean, certainly it's easier to be in the central slightly maybe, but I don't think it's a huge.
08:05And maybe in the American League, it's a bigger deal.
08:07I don't think it's that big a deal in the National League.
08:10Cubs are a good team.
08:11You know, the other teams are working on it.
08:14We'll see.
08:16And I think this is going to be our final one from at Mike Reed, 602-59113.
08:23I hope we're not giving, like, your Social Security number, Mike Reed.
08:27Maybe it's his phone number.
08:28He lives in Phoenix.
08:29Yes.
08:30And the question is, what's a day in the life of an experienced professional rider like, especially during the offseason?
08:38John, just let me â I'm going to let you answer this, but I do want to throw flowers here.
08:44Like, John came on the Yankee Beat in 1990.
08:47That was my second year.
08:48In some way, we've worked against each other or with each other at multiple places since then.
08:54And I'm here to â part of the answer is nobody works as relentlessly and competitively as John Heyman.
09:04I just â even now, with us both in a more advanced age, your fire to get it, get it right, get it first, be informative.
09:17Like, now I get to see behind the scenes much more than I ever did before.
09:22It's â like, people should know who, you know, buy the post, you know, either online or in the newspaper or watch us on MLB Network.
09:32John is tireless.
09:34And the word that comes to mind all the time is relentless.
09:36And I love relentless people.
09:38He's relentless when it comes to gathering news.
09:40Thank you very much, Joel.
09:43That's very nice of you.
09:44I'm glad you said more advanced age.
09:46I would say I'm the most advanced age.
09:48You're a young whippersnapper compared to me.
09:51So, yeah, I mean, I find doing â I do weird things like take the phone and put it so I can see it while I'm in the shower.
10:00I don't actually take the phone into the shower, but I can see if I'm getting any texts while I'm in the shower and I have jumped out.
10:06I mean, when I was in Japan on a vacation, you know, I slept with it on my head, basically, so I would hear it to wake me up if there was anything going on.
10:16You know, it's a little â I'm a little crazy.
10:19There are several of us out there who are like that.
10:21And, you know, it's certainly become a lot more competitive.
10:24We used to be able to wait for things a little bit, but now it's, you know, seconds.
10:30And then you, you know, as soon as somebody gets it first, then everybody will generally, if you have some kind of source, you'll be able to follow it.
10:39But it is quite a competition.
10:42And, yeah, I am a little crazy, and I appreciate the flowers, Joel.
10:46Yeah, no, well-earned ones.
10:49You know, the only thing I'll add to it is for people who take this ultra seriously, and I think John and I fall into that bucket, and I won't speak for John here because I'm about to say something, is like it is not exactly a child, the job.
11:06Your children are more important.
11:08John and I are blessed.
11:09We both have great children.
11:10But it is like having a child a little bit.
11:13It's just with you.
11:15Like if you're asking me what's a day in the life of an experienced professional writer like, it's just that I'm never not thinking about it.
11:22I'm never not thinking about who I should call, text, what I should write, how I could do it different than it's been done, what's the competition doing, you know, what are my colleagues.
11:35I just am 24-7.
11:38It's not healthy, I don't think.
11:40But it's just with me all the time.
11:44I can't shake it.
11:48And I'm, yeah, I'm just bad at not having it with me.
11:53And like for better or worse, that's my life.
11:56You know, it's the godfather.
11:58This is the life we've chosen.
12:01But it is obsessive.
12:05And in some ways, John and I have done this for a long time and have advanced to certain places.
12:10And I think we're both working harder than we've ever worked in more, including places like this, you know, like whoever thought we do podcasts, webcasts, you know, like online only, like it's the workload is somewhat significant.
12:24And we're blessed.
12:25My father was a truck driver.
12:26I always point it out.
12:27I'm blessed to do this.
12:29But it is a child to some degree that never leaves me.
12:33Yeah, you know, with more things, the job has gotten, I don't want to say harder, but more time consuming, right?
12:41We didn't have until 2008 or 2009, we didn't have Twitter.
12:45Certainly we're in a podcast.
12:47The MLB Network started around that time.
12:51And, yeah, it's a lot.
12:53It's a lot.
12:54And now certainly Twitter makes it very difficult because then you are racing to get something and, you know, don't always have time to check with a million sources.
13:06It's the worst journalism.
13:07I don't think it's been I can't say anything positive about Twitter.
13:10One of the negatives, it's it's it's hurt mental health and it's hurt journalism.
13:16So I think it's it's a it's a net negative.
13:19But this again, this this is the jobs we've decided to do.
13:24And you got to got to live with it.
13:25And we're appreciative of the people who follow us in every way, including on this podcast and including sending these these questions today.
13:33And we hope to continue to do stuff like this moving forward.
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