00:00Is Mets owner Steve Cohen feeling the pressure for the franchise to end the 40-year title drought?
00:06Let's talk all things Cohen and Mets baseball with Tyler Ward, the voice of the Amazons,
00:11and of course your favorite Mets content creator.
00:14Wardy, appreciate you hopping on with this, man.
00:16I know you're excited to get down there to Florida, so I won't hold you up too much.
00:19But we got to talk about it because the man said he is impatient
00:23and he wants to end the eighth longest title drought in MLB.
00:29But let's start with the news about how he said that he won't name a captain
00:33as long as he owns the franchise.
00:35So no seal in Lindor or Soto's chest.
00:38I've never been on or a part of a team that did not have a captain or captains, plural.
00:44So how do you and the fan base feel about that decision?
00:51You know, it's a great question, Brandon,
00:53because when Mike Puma of our New York Post here asked that question to Steve yesterday,
00:57I think Mike and the collective group was actually taken back by the response from Steve.
01:02We didn't expect or think he was going to come out bluntly and say verbatim, you know,
01:06that there will never be a captain as long as I am owner.
01:09And given his evaluation, my theory behind this, and I don't know if this is 100% true,
01:14but I'm just connecting the dots a bit.
01:16You know, I think of the remarks that former Mets reliever Adam Adovino shared on a podcast
01:21earlier this year, breaking down former Met Brandon Nimmo on how he himself did not love
01:26the rumblings of a guy like Francisco Lindor being considered for captaincy because he felt
01:31in his own right, he's a leader in that clubhouse.
01:33And that pretty much is what Steve reiterated in these remarks, stating how the clubhouse is
01:37an ever-changing thing on a year-by-year basis.
01:40And it's really up to the players to essentially appoint and they want someone to be their
01:44unofficial leader because Lindor has been that for a number of years.
01:47I'm sure Soto is going to take on a larger role this year.
01:50Marcus Simeon, one of the rare captains we have seen in baseball as of recent, as he
01:54was the captain for the world series champion, Texas Rangers.
01:57That was actually traded for Brandon Nimmo this past off season.
02:01The Mets have a really wide array of a collective group of veterans.
02:04I know how to lead in their own ways in this clubhouse.
02:06I'm sure that's what Steve Cohen really meant when he said that there's no reason to put
02:10a label on one specific individual when we have so many here that bring different types
02:13of leadership qualities that are going to bode the club well.
02:16Do you feel like that beef, that clubhouse beef between him and Nimmo kind of messed up
02:21his shot regardless if Cohen was even open to having a player be a captain on one of his
02:28teams?
02:29You know, I'm really not sure, but I'm first thinking of the following, Brandon.
02:33You know, it was last summer or so when the Mets were getting set to, of course, celebrate
02:38David Wright on David Wright day.
02:40As we saw, I'm forgetting the exact date, but it wasn't too long ago.
02:43And the buildup to David Wright day was speculation that are the Mets going to consider passing
02:48the captaincy baton from Wright to Lindor on his big day.
02:52There were some leaks going out on MLB's website on a hype video on captains of the New York
02:57Mets.
02:57And I had Francisco Lindor at the end of that video.
02:59So it caused a lot of speculation and a lot of fans like myself to try to connect the
03:04dots that ultimately didn't happen.
03:06And to hear those remarks supposedly regarding Nimmo on how he felt about that circumstance
03:10does leave you wondering if that did throw a wrench at all into the Mets plans at naming
03:15a captain.
03:15But if we're going to take what Steve Cohen said more with a grain of salt and truthfully
03:19everything he said as fact, he did also reiterate that this is something that he's always felt
03:24since the start of becoming owner for this Mets team, which means that this would go
03:29well beyond just the remarks that we have known over the past calendar year as to what
03:33Brandon Nimmo has felt maybe was feeling a little wrong about the captaincy status with
03:38Lindor, among other things.
03:40All I know, though, is that this is a very different clubhouse dynamic.
03:43Nimmo, Alonzo, Diaz, McNeil, what do these players have in common?
03:47They're no longer New York Mets.
03:48So the Mets are not going to have that necessarily of a thing to worry about anymore.
03:53We'll just see how this dynamic is with Lindor and the other veterans that are now entering
03:57this group for 2026.
03:58Yeah, I just find it weird that he won't have a captain because I always compare professional
04:04sports locker rooms or clubhouses to like a wolf pack.
04:08You know, every wolf within that wolf pack has its job, has its role.
04:13But then there's also that alpha that everyone responds to, everyone reports to, and that's
04:18who we're supposed to report to your coaches, to your, to your front office.
04:23So I just think that that's very weird that he won't name a captain as long as he's an
04:27owner.
04:28But these are the type of moves that put a lot of pressure on the decision maker or the
04:32decision makers to win their way.
04:35And when Steve Cohen bought this team, he said that the Mets would win a championship in
04:40five years.
04:41We're already way past that deadline.
04:43Cohen is now impatient with this whole 40 year title drought.
04:46To add the insult, the 1986 Mets are going to be honored at Citi Field throughout the entire
04:52season.
04:53So who would you say is more pressure, facing more pressure this season for this team to
04:58be a contender?
04:59Cohen, Stearns, or the players?
05:02Naturally, it's a collective thing, right?
05:04I mean, it's really hard not to view it that way, but I do think that there is, they don't
05:08do a collective here in New York.
05:10They don't do a collective.
05:11The finger has to point at one person.
05:13If you have to point at one person who is staring down the barrel of the gun.
05:19It's David Stearns.
05:21That's the simple answer that I was going to get to, because listen, David Stearns is
05:25the architect behind this Mets roster.
05:27And after completely depleting the core that's been here for the past five to seven plus years,
05:33this is now more David Stearns' team than it ever has been before.
05:37You can't say that the pressure is solely on Cohen, because all he does is sign the checks
05:41and do everything in his power to bring in top talent.
05:44It isn't for a lack of effort on his end.
05:46It's just not his fault that a team like the Daughters can swoop in and basically grab
05:49anyone they want because they are who they say they are.
05:52When you look at the players on this roster, yes, there's, of course, a level of pressure
05:56and expectation on them as well.
05:57But there's a lot of newcomers on the block here.
06:00You know, some guys were traded here without asking for it.
06:02And other guys signed, of course, on shorter term contracts.
06:05So this is really up to David Stearns to see how this roster that he built himself all
06:11together.
06:12How is it going to look throughout the course of the year?
06:14So if the Mets do not have a strong year, do not be surprised if the Mets may find themselves
06:19going in a slightly different direction at the helm, heading into 2027, because it's
06:23one thing to miss playoffs one year.
06:25It's another to lose it for back to back years.
06:28And that's something that, you know, as you know, very well, Brandon, in a market like
06:31New York, you simply cannot justify consistently, especially when you look at the payroll that
06:36the Mets have, the amount of millions upon millions of dollars that Steve Cohen continues
06:40to spend.
06:41They have to put up or shut up this year, which is why in my eyes, this is a make
06:45or break
06:45in various ways for David Stearns and how this roster is going to look.
06:49Throughout the course of the season, I've seen a lot of videos that are coming out of
06:52these workouts.
06:54A lot of guys, I mean, dinking it to the parking lot.
06:57What would you say is one position player or one pitcher that's kind of stood out in
07:02so far this spring?
07:05There's been a lot of players that look good so far, which is obviously fun.
07:08It's that time of year where everyone's just starting to ramp up and looking good.
07:12No, no stress.
07:13Hopefully no injuries.
07:14We're all having a great time.
07:15And a position player that sticks out like a sore thumb to me right away has to be Jorge
07:20Polanco, who the Mets signed from the Seattle Mariners this past offseason.
07:23Polanco, who signed with the Mets in part because his father actually resides in New York.
07:28So that benefit the Mets and their pursuit of the veteran switch hitter.
07:31He has been slapping the ball to all fields and has put the ball in play constantly throughout
07:36the past week since he's arrived there to Port St.
07:38Lucy, I've heard nothing but raving reviews across media and other reporters while they
07:42have physically been there in Port St.
07:44Lucy, watching Polanco's work and doing a fantastic job and grinding out at bats early,
07:49looking like he really hasn't missed a step since the end of his tremendous playoff run
07:52with the Mariners last year.
07:54And then on the pitching end, you know, there's a young pitcher who's been healthy for a number
07:57of months, but has been swept under the rug by fans who I think have disregarded the player
08:02because he hasn't pitched since the 2024 season due to reconstructive Tommy John surgery.
08:07And that's Christian Scott.
08:08I mean, Christian Scott had everyone oohing and eyeing at camp the past 24 hours.
08:13He struck out Juan Soto top 95 on the gun.
08:17And what's fun about Christian Scott is he has a high rising fastball, which basically means
08:21Brandon, if he's throwing 95, it's so deceptive to hitters and the way that it rises that it
08:26really appears as if it's 97, 98.
08:30And he had Soto looking silly and they're at bat against each other yesterday.
08:34So Christian Scott, definitely impressing early, utilizing all of his pitch mix, including
08:38a cutter that he has now added into the mix.
08:41Since the last time he was on the mound for the Mets at the major league level, he's someone
08:44that's really hoping to impact the team in varying degrees, whether it's as a starter,
08:48a reliever, a swing man, one of many young starters that the Mets have to choose from throughout
08:53the course of the season.
08:54All right, Polanco, Christian Scott, they better retweet this when they, once they find out that
08:59you're giving them some love, Wardy.
09:01I appreciate you hopping on, man.
09:02Can't wait to connect with you when you're down in Port St. Lucie.
09:06Thanks so much, Brandon.
09:08Always a pleasure.
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