[Music] [Music] it's the amazing Rico bronia podcast with your host Evan Roberts Rico Bron time the first Rico Bron on a football Sunday it was the first time you sat down of the Year watched the Mets on a Sunday and maybe you were distracted by how pathetic the New York Giants were but the Mets do lose to the Cincinnati Reds they do win the series they do complete a home stand that was a pretty big success by going five in one but it's funny uh Sunday morning I was having a conversation with my dad and we were talking about how red hot the Mets are and how well they've been playing and the chances of making the postseason the normal baseball conversations you've probably had and I said to him I know they're going to lose I know they're going to lose a game and I can't be mad when they lose a game but I know there's going to be like a part of me that's disappointed even though you can't end the season on literally a 28 game winning streak or whatever would turn out to be so I was mentally preparing myself for the fact that they were going to either lose on Sunday or they were going to lose early next week and as I sat there on a Sunday afternoon trying to you know manage all the NFL games and managing the Met game and as the Mets were deadlocked and a very typical game a game that seems oddly familiar from this winning streak great starting pitching the offense does very very little the bullpen actually looks pretty good for a time it just had the ending that you kind of dreaded the ending that we're not used to and as DJ Stewart struck out to end the game and yes we'll spend some time on DJ a little bit later on and the decision the fact that we have to watch him again but as that game ended I gotta tell you I was a little bit more pissed off than I realized I I didn't and I'm not g to just say well G goly n game winning streak that was fun you have to lose sometime because while that's true obviously the Mets were not going to run the table to end this regular season when you lose a game you look at how you lost the game and the frustrating things from that game don't just get eliminated because of the fact that they won nine previous games does that make any sense is that does that fit like I get it they've won nine in a row I get it they are very much in this thing tied with the Atlanta Braves for the third wild card spot only trailing San Diego and Arizona by one game in the Lost column yeah they're right there it is all right there for them it is possible the New York Mets are Wildcard team number one when this whole thing is said and done it's also possible they missed the playoffs it's right there it's very tight obviously it's going to come down to the last three weeks and I'm thrilled about that I'm thrilled about the fact that they were able to make up this ground I'm thrilled by the fact that they just pulled off a 5 in one home stand I said before the home stand give me four- two 5- one was a damn success but as you're sitting there if you went to the ballpark on a Sunday afternoon or you were watching this game or listening to this game or watching the highlights after you watch the Giants embarrass themselves to start a football season there still are things over the course of a baseball game that frustrate you may I cite some examples for you all right I'm going to do it anyway the offense was completely lifeless I mean Francisco Lindor has cooled off I don't want to pick on him but his on base streak which has been such a a 10 pole of this winning streak it disappeared rather meekly with an 0 for four when they did get an opportunity in the fourth inning of this game by Pete Alonzo having this really good at bat and drawing a walk and uh or actually Mark Vientos had the really good at bat and Drew the walk and Pete got hit by a pitch on a 2-2 pitch they're set up with two1 and nobody out they're set up for a big inning they're set up to take an early lead and Jesse Winker grounds out and Jose glacius flies out and Sterling Marte grounds out they get a great opportunity in the sixth inning of this game and that was the inning where they actually broke through and they got the clutch hit from Starling Marte but right after that with a chance to maybe break the game open you saw Luis Terren strike out you then saw the offense after that against the Cincinnati Bullpen go down as meekly as humanly possible and and look over the course of this winning streak while they've had their moments offensively that has not been their strength they have not hit the cover off the ball during this nine-game winning streak that wasn't happening what they were doing and it sort of continued for this game is get really good starting pitching and then get a great effort from their Bullpen which they almost got in this game but the offense struggling the way it did against let's face it mediocre pitching I mean you're facing a guy in Julian aguar and you're facing aelo Pagan and you're facing Justin Wilson and buck farmer who they just bombed a few days earlier and they could not hit at all and let's be clear let's be very clear before we get into the other aspects of this game including the decision Mendy made on Saturday that impacted what happened on Sunday they lost this game because they couldn't hit I me it's that's it they lost this game because that offensive performance outside of a two-out single by Starling Marte in the sixth inning which was clutch outside of that the offense was dead it was Meek and it doesn't help when the top of the order does absolutely nothing when Francisco Lindor and Brandon nmo both take o Force nimo's gotten close obviously came very close to a game-changing home run in the third inning of this game he also came close to a home run a day earlier so he had a few of those over the last couple of days and I guess that's a positive sign that he's close to breaking out I guess you could look at it that way but the one on Sunday was even more frustrating because the one on Saturday and granted I was at the games had a different vantage point to me it was clearly a foul ball it was he he hit a bomb it went foul it's bad luck what can you do the ball that he hit on Sunday the finale of this series I don't think any us know if it was fair or foul you even had Mendoza asked after the game hey wouldn't it be great if City Field had a higher foul PSE I'm gonna tell you something that makes no sense I don't really care I'm on about two hours of sleep uh why there's no exciting reason on why basically got woke up on Saturday night after sleeping for 30 minutes and once I got woken up that that was it I was done some about no sleep when I say this so I don't know if it makes any sense but I think it does don't we have the tech technology like we've sent a freaking man to the Moon right we have WiFi all over the place we got you know internet wherever you want it I know those aren't the greatest examples of technology but think about any other great piece of technology we have we have a lot of great technology you're telling me we can't put something in the baseball that tells us if it's fair or foul I don't know if that makes any sense but I was thinking about that even when I had a clearer head during the game I'm like there's nothing maybe it's not even the baseball maybe maybe it's you know what I always thought it was all right this is good this is psychedelic why don't we paint the stands Fair territory foul territory so besides just a poll down the line Fair territory is painted green foul territory is painted red now just the those seats that are close you don't have to do the entire ballpark it doesn't have to turn into Shay Stadium where you had the green and the grand the blue and the the orange and red though I do miss that and if Steve wanted to bring that back to City Field that'd be very very cool but if you paint this I'm telling you this this makes more sense in my head than maybe it sounds but if you painted the seats the color of fair a foul then we see the baseball and where it hits and that's it and then we know and and don't take this as me complaining I'm not complaining because I have no idea if that was fair foul I really don't I'm just trying to come up with Solutions but the offense was tough to watch now one of the critiques that a lot of people are going to have and I have it as well is why wasn't Edwin Diaz used in this game it's a great question it's a great so let's examine that but before we do examine the Edwin Diaz quandre again I want to make this very very clear so we all know when you score one run on four hits against let me read off the names julan aguar Tony santin Emelio Pagan Justin Wilson Buck farmer and Alexis Diaz when you score one run on four hits against that load of crap that I just described we are nitpicking everything else that cost you a game so I I want everyone to know that it's the offense stupid but let us have a conversation about these handling of the bullpen first of all Luis srino we'll get to the Diaz part but let's start with the whole thing because the only way to fairly examine the Edwin Diaz decision is to look at how he got there and even a few things from Saturday so srino was great in this game and srino was allowed to try to get noval Marte out with a runner on second and two outs nursing a one- nothing lead his pitch count at the time was in the high 90s I for one I raised my hand had zero issues with Luis srino being allowed the opportunity to get the third out of the seventh inning why you ask he'd earned it he had pitched very well throughout this game I thought what he did in the fifth inning when he got out of a first and third nobody out Jam was incredibly impressive he picks a runner off number one and then gets the back-to-back strikeouts against Marte and against Benson that's when srino was very pumped up after he got that final out he had done that throughout the game even in the sixth inning runner on second after he makes the Miss throw when he actually threw over for a third time which is unique threw it past Pete Alonzo he was able to get the big out on Spencer steer so sevie was getting the big outs he had pitched very well throughout this game I'm not deeply concerned about a pitch count that's 9798 and remember that base runner that was on second base got there because an infield hit it's not like he was being smoked so number one no issue with srino being allowed to face Marte with a runner on second and two out and it was the luckiest hit in the world I mean when you look at the five hits that srino gave up I would say four of them were of the cheap bleeding blooper BS category again not an excuse just describing how dominant Luis srino was he was that good so no issue with him being allowed to finish the seventh inning unfortunately couldn't do it he gives up the blue pit at that point go to the bullpen which he does with Reed Garrett who continues to look incredible Reed Garrett has firmly entered himself in the circle of trust I think he showed that in this game by getting the last out to the seventh and then having not just a one two three inning but a dominant one two3 inning and then you get to the ninth inning so here's my question my dilemma with Mendy's decision Edwin Diaz had pitched two days in a row he pitched on Friday of course he did it was a tie game tie game at home Edwin Diaz is gonna pitch he pitches on Saturday with a four-run lead I don't have an issue I talked about this on the previous Rico I'll bring it up again I don't have an issue with going to my closer with a four-run lead why do you ask because you've been warming the guy up anyway because it's a relatively close game and in the ninth inning if whoever you go to that's not Diaz puts a guy on base dare I say two guys on base are you not GNA want to go to Edwin Diaz are you gonna F around with whatever pitcher is coming to this game not named Edwin Diaz no I think like most of us especially with the way Edwin's been throwing the baseball since the Grand Slam against Arizona you would say hey I got to go to Edwin Diaz so with a four-run lead I'm not as opposed to not going to him and keep this in mind if you are okay why are you opposed to it because there's a stat called save and a save is one when it's a three-run game but it's not one when it's a four-run game you literally making your decision based on a stat that really nobody gives a rat's ass about it's a stat that's not important maybe it was 15 years ago but it's really not and we've talked about it use your best reliever in the seventh or eighth inning he may not even get a save so you're against it because it's a stat or are you against it because a four-run lead oh that that's no problem but a three-run lead oh jeez my nipples are nervous I gotta go to a I got to go to my top reliever like when you think about it that way it doesn't make sense if you're opposed to it so I was not opposed to go to Edwin Diaz on Saturday was I a little biased in that I took my youngest son to the game my young man Spence who's only three and he got through the entire game and I thought the light show the excitement of the Edwin Diaz trumpets would push him over the top to get through the ninth inning maybe a little bit I I better fited selfishly from Edwin Diaz coming into that game I kid though like sure that's true but I mean everything I just said why oppose to it with a four-run lead but for it with a three-run lead here's where I question Mendy though so again not not against going to Edwin Diaz on Saturday why screw around go win your ninth game in a row the heart of the order was coming up you want to go to somebody else and have two guys get on and then you gotta get Diaz warmed up anyway like think about that aspect of it if you have a four-run lead you probably are going to want your closer warming before anything happens just in case just in case you feel the need to pull that lever of emergency to go to your best reliever so if you feel that way and you're warming up him anyway why F around just go to him here's my issue with Mendy or my question for Mendy we have already seen Edwin Diaz pitch three games in a row we've seen that and by the way we saw him do it and we saw him do it getting out of his slump he gives up the home run to Corbin Carrol that was the shocking beginning of the winning streak the following day he pitches the next day he pitches the day after that or two days after that so that was when we saw Edwin pitch three days in a row and I think if you total it up it was four to five days so Edwin Diaz on Sunday would have pitched his third straight day and four out of five now I'll admit if you go to Edwin Diaz on Sunday you're probably asking too much for him to be available Monday in Toronto well guess what no one's talking about Monday in Toronto I'm not worried about Monday in Toronto we'll get to Monday in Toronto when dare I say it's Monday in Toronto here's the other thing when Edwin Diaz pitched those three games in a row he did it by actually throwing more pitches than he had thrown the last couple of days I'll pull up the numbers just to back that up like his pitch count over the last couple of days when he has pitched has not been very high when he came into the game on Saturday he threw 16 pitches when he came into the game on Friday he threw 14 pitches when he had pitched two days earlier in a five-run game so not a four-run game but he was also warming up the Mets had broken the game open he threw 16 pitches he has not thrown a lot of pitches during this heavy workload period where he would have been asked to pitch three days in a row coming into a game that was tied in the ninth inning if you want to compare that to the Arizona stuff well listen to this when Edwin Diaz blew the game and gave up the Grand Slam to Corbin Carroll he threw 21 pitches that's bigger than any game I mention the following day he threw 18 pitches also a larger number than the pitch counts I've just talked about and then when he pitched the third day in a row pretty economical he pitched a dominant 10 pitch one two3 inning so you weren't asking him to do much more than what you had previously asked him to do about a week and a half ago and I'm not overly concerned about his workload for two reasons Edwin Diaz has pitched better when been given a heavy workload that's been proven throughout his Med career and number two because of the IL stint because of the suspension it's not as if he's over taxed this season so my critique of Carlos Mendoza maybe a little bit different than others who are mad about him pitching on Saturday I'm not against him pitching on Saturday I'm against him not being used on Sunday but if you're Phil maton you come into a game tie game ninth inning heart of the batting order maton had entered the circle of trust that that's the other problem with this Edwin Diaz is the Met's best reliever I think we all believe in him more than anybody else in this Bullpen despite those two blown saves really the one blown save and then the loss in San Diego prior to that but you've got a bullpen that's pitched well I mean during this winning streak this Bullpen has been unbelievable so Phil mton came into this game with a track record recently of pitching really well and unfortunately if you look at what happened and how this inning kind of got away from him some of it was bad luck and some of it was just that one pitch like he hit Spencer steer kind of bad luck also one bad pitch allowing the leadoff man to get on Ty France hits that ground ball down the third Baseline Vientos actually made a great play Vientos saved it from being second and third nobody out makes a diving play it's an infield uh infield hit he gets the ground out and then he gets ahead of Santiago espanol and he just hung a sweeper or a slider I forget which one it was one and two ahead of the count and you could almost feel as that ball was leaving his hand it was about to be ripped so mton failed now he hasn't failed a lot as a New York Met and I would rather have seen Edwin Diaz in that game especially against the heart of the Cincinnati order but it's not like Carlos Mendoza went to you know some bum he didn't go to Mel roas from 25 years ago he went to a relief pitcher who so far as a New York Met has been very good unfortunately in this case he failed that's the problem he fa he made a couple of bad pitches a couple of mistakes and a 1-1 game turned into a three Run game but it goes back to the beginning you can't only score one run against Julian aguire and the Cincinnati Bullpen that can't happen you do that you lose but for Diaz moving forward I want to see meny continue to be aggressive in using him because that can be the benefit from the fact that Edwin Diaz has had a very light workload this season he is coming off a year in which he didn't pitch I get that but just to put in perspective how little Edward Diaz has pitched he's thrown 43 Innings this season two years ago he threw 62 Innings that's a 19 inning difference and we're obviously just a couple of weeks left in the season year before that he threw 62 Innings this actually has a chance we'll see we'll see where this ends up to being one of Edwin Diaz's lowest inning totals in a full Major League season obviously you got to take out 2020 and I look at that as a benefit I look at that as actually a good thing the suspension the injury also there were just times in which they just didn't use them because the Mets didn't have safe situations because those opportunities did just didn't come around so I want to see Mendy continue and I I do say continue because he did Pitch him three days in a row week and a half ago but continue and more so being aggressive using edwind Diaz his best relief pitcher despite how well the rest of the bullpen has pitched as far as Saturday's game was concerned very encouraging to see Jose canana do what he did Pitch into the seventh inning give up the five hits scatter the five hits make the big pitch when he needed to backed up by great defense by his middle infield Jose canana has had a very up and down season my hope our hope is as up and down as it's been you've got what is it four or five starts left I guess if you do the math maybe four starts left I'll have to count that up can you give us the best the best of you over these next three weeks and he delivered that on Saturday but again the Met offense did nothing think about it met offense getting shut down by Jacob junis they're get no hit in the fifth inning at that point I started announcing to my section junis is pitching a no hitter junis is pitching a no hitter hey the Reds have a no hitter I don't believe in jinxes but I figured out why the hell not and then Jose glacius of all people people rip one into the right field corner for a double and they finally broke through offensively Harris and Bader be very good to get him going last couple of weeks of the season goes right center for a home run Pete Alonzo comes through with a big RBI single how about that how about that Petz not a lot of big hits that was a big hit JD Martinez comes through with a two-run double and luckily instead of trying to hold on and win a one- nothing nailbiter or a two nothing nailbiter we were able to see the Met offense break through but only for one inning a and that has been a story throughout this winning streak they don't score a lot of runs and when they do it usually comes in one inning can't complain about it because they're winning every night but assuming this starting pitching is not going to keep up this T Pace assuming this Bullpen isn't going to remain perfect it wasn't in game three of this series now it's time for the offense to step up now it's time for this team to give give you a couple of games where they pound out seven or eight runs and they do it on a consistent basis why not this week against Toronto Kevin Gman hasn't had a great year Chris Basset hasn't had a great year let's see the Met offense click up north against Toronto but the other story from Saturday was realizing that Jeff mcneel is not going to play again for the Mets this season I guess there's a chance Jeff mcneel could play again for the Mets if this team goes on some kind of long postseason run I'm not even going to think about that the reality is Jeff mcneel get hit by a pitch and it's so it's crazy man like we do the RICO on Friday and I mention it yeah McNeil got hit by a pitch they'll do testing tomorrow never for a think that for a second like were you guys thinking that first of all Jeff's laughing after he got hit by the pitch think in the game doesn't mean all that much because we've seen this a lot guys will stay in the game and then we'll find out uh oh he Tor his Achilles now usually not that bad but you know guy gets hit by a pitch stays in the game and then an inning or two later they eventually come out so it wasn't necessarily him staying in the game it was more the way it looked when he got hit he has all that body armor on the fact that he's laughing I just I didn't go to bed that night or record the RICO thinking boy Jeff mcneel may be out for the season so that really took me by surprise when I saw that on Saturday and besides feeling bad for the guy he's a competitor uh he's had a very good second half offensively he's really fixed his season even though baseball reference will always Define Jeff mcneel's 2024 by sucking you know in the moment it's easy for us to say you know Jeff was really hitting in the second half of the season but most of the time we don't think that way we're going to see 238 which is the lowest batting average of his major league career we're going to see 692 Ops the second lowest Ops of his career that's what we're going to see now reality is he was hitting a lot better in the second half of the year and being a you know a positive for this team so I feel bad for Jeff the Mets lose depth by obviously not having Jeff mcneel but Jose glacius has made things very difficult over the last few months in a good way he's so good defensively at second base I don't know if he can keep this up offensively even though he'll mix in some big hits here and there like he did Saturday the double to break up the no hitter a base hit later in the game another two hit performance he did have one base hit in this game the finale of this series it was actually a pretty important base hit it was an infield hit right before Marte got the RBI single that game the lead so I don't know if he's going to keep this up offensively I don't think any of us do but boy he is something else defensively he is a joy to watch defensively that's like something Bob Murphy would say he's such a joy to watch defensively oh Gary Coen but he really is he's a excellent defensive second baseman that double play that he turned on Saturday where he makes the diving stop somehow gets up makes the throw to Lindor at second base who was in the second inning had a chance to really turn into a big inning against Jose canana because canana walk Spencer steer to start it that double play was was huge I think it really changed the game in a lot of ways because canano was shaky gave up two hits right after that now you can't assume the same things happen if a glacius doesn't turn the double play if it's just a base hit to right field the way it looked but that was an incredible defensive play and even when Lindor made his great double play turn an inning later and it was absolutely set up by Lor glacius is so quick with his hands man he turns that double play faster than anybody and I like Jeff mcneel defensively I don't think he actually gets enough credit for as solid as he is defensively he's not Jose glaus and Mendy wasn't playing a glacius every every day he wasn't doing it now he has to can I can I just jump in here because I know that we're appraising Jose Gus's defensive prowess and he is amazing at second base but I I think we got to give him a little more kudos for his offense too and it's not like a fluke that he's he maybe the timeliness is is pretty amazing I think what going in on to Friday or Saturday's game he was 10 for 20 with a two outs of runs scoring position I mean that's impressive but he's look at his batting average I know we don't look at batting average but if you look at his batting average he's always like his career 286 hitter like he just hits in a good spot he doesn't hit for power but he h a good good timely spots he's been great offensively all I'm saying is defense is consistent and so I'm confident final few weeks of the Season he'll continue to be great defensively I don't know if he's going to keep it up offensively he's had a great offensive year you're right he's been insanely clutch um I'm just more confident that his defense will continue to be that and look he should have been the everyday second baseman for two months now but to get Jeff mcneel's bat in the lineup and with the depth of this team that's why there were days where we wouldn't see a glacius out there now I don't want to diminish losing mcneel because here's why losing mcneel is a big deal why we can't just say well glaas is playing every day no problem it hurts the bench it hurts the depth of this team we'll get into the decision to call up DJ Stewart and if it shouldn't have been him and it should have been somebody else we'll get to that in a few minutes but look at the end of game three you're looking at your bench late in the game with Tren and Bader coming up down by two runs you could have had Jeff mcneel on a day where he wasn't playing but you didn't so I think from a starting lineup perspective it's easy to say n it's no big deal a glacius plays every day you've got a lot of outfielders what's the problem it's just the depth and the depth takes a hit I I think that Sunday's game was a great example of that because you look to your bench you look to your left-handed bat Off the Bench and you find DJ Stewart so it's not a good thing it's not the end of the world you know it's not losing Lindor obviously but it sucks for getting the personal level of losing Jeff mcneel and I'll tell you this you can write this one down and I don't think I'm alone in saying this not that I want to think too much about it I think he is never playing another game for the Mets again I do I think that this off season which may feature a lot of changes May feature God knows what I think it will feature Jeff mcneel not being on this team for a myriad of reasons despite his great versatility when you look at the future when you look at aunia when you look at jet Williams when you even look at a glacius who's a free agent at the end of the year how could you not bring him back especially if the Mets are successful in signing uh let's just say a really really expensive awesome offensive player you may look to go a little cheaper at other positions so if I had to predict right now on September 8th as we record this I don't think Jeff mcneel plays another game again for the New York Mets I hope I'm wrong because hopefully he plays in the NLCS hopefully the Mets go on a Deep Run and he can come back now let's get to the decision because the decision is causing a lot of anger and of course I'm talking about the decision to call up DJ Stewart to replace him on the roster spot before I give you my opinion let's read some emails let's see uh some DJ Stewart complaining so listen or read some of the voices of Met fans upet about DJ and I'll tell you my thoughts on this Samuel writes as a Met fan I can't complain it's been an unbelievable week plus can't win every game but I gotta ask what's the obsession with DJ Stewart why does he get the call up for Jeff mcneel DJ Stewart frankly is not a good baseball player his batting average this year is 175 his Ops is 6 25 he can't run maybe he walks once in a while but who cares if aunia is not ready find someone else down there who is why not try Luke Ritter and perhaps worst of all DJ reminds us of a baseball player we all want to forget I think his name starts with a V but I won't say it so please Mets find someone else for the roster Sam yes it's very very much annoying yes it is now when Jeff mcneel got hurt there were a lot of suggestions on who they should call up Jimmy writes what message would Sterns be sending to both the team of the fan base if you recall Jimmy stew uh Jimmy Stewart DJ Stewart the team already has a plethora of Outfield options all of which are hitting above 200 he can't steal bases he can't lay down a bunt he can walk but aren't we familiar with another DH with a similar build to Stewart who did nothing other than walk if you want an outfielder Gil has been hitting bring him up if you want a more M McNeil like option someone who can play second Outfield and swipe a base and a pinch call up aunia the team cannot inject the 175 inning Steward into this final push so my first reaction to Jeff mcneel going down was Luis Sanel Luna that's my initial response uh the idea that he can play the infield the idea that he can play The Outfield but more importantly the fact that he has speed because the question I asked when the Mets eventually added Reyes to this roster was what are you gonna do with that extra Guy what's rle is he gonna have is he gonna play is he gonna start is he gonna be a pinch hitter is he gonna be a pinch what is he gonna be and the more you thought about it the answer was he's literally only going to be a pinch Runner that's it that that's what that job's going to be which is why calling up a guy like Reyes when you think about it makes a lot of sense Pablo Reyes isn't starting a game he may never get in that bat he's literally going to be used as a pinch Runner tie game for JD Martinez in the ninth inning or the Extra Inning rule down the stretch of the season but now you have to ask yourself a new question Jeff mcneel is out what's the role of the guy replacing him so I think about it this way Jose glacius is the every second baseman no questions asked I don't even think there's a debate I'm not calling Louis San heluna up to be the second baseman I'm not sorry I'm not calling Luke Ritter up to be the second baseman I'm not Brett batty obviously got injured he's not an option if batty was still hitting we'd have a very different discussion but he's not because he's hurt so goodbye you have an outfield that features Starling Marte who should play as often as he can Brandon nmo who despite his frustrating slumps should also play as often as he can it features JD Martinez at DH it features Jesse Winker who I think we'd all agree now should play against right-handed pitching and then you've got two good defensive players really good defensive players in Tyrone Taylor and Harrison Bader and you almost kind of want to play the hot hand Bader had cooled off now it looks like maybe he's warming up with the home run on Saturday so if you call someone up is that guy playing over that group and my answer is no that's my answer my answer is no if there is a right-hander on the mound Jesse Winker is going to play left field or right field now I want Marte playing every day obviously they're taking it careful with him at this point let's say it's the brave series and you're facing righties or even you know this series coming up because there's only three weeks left in the year if you're comfortable playing Starling at Marte every day I think your best offensive team is Winker in left nmo in Center Marte in right JD's the DH a glacius at second base if there's a lefty on the man a little bit different you're not g to play Winker you're gonna have Marte left you're gonna have Nimo in left um I'm sorry Marte in right Nemo in left and either Tyrone Taylor or Harrison Bader in Center I don't see with any of the options and that includes guys like Drew Gilbert no offense to him I don't see any any of the guys they're calling up having a pathway to being in the starting lineup at least for me you know Carlos Mendoza may do something different I'm giving you my opinion I wouldn't play any of those guys as a starter so now I start to think well I've got to evaluate that spot as a bench spot well how am I going to use that bench spot and I think you saw the answer on Sunday the answer is as a pinch hitter an occasional pinch hitter but with Taylor being a righty with Bader being a righty and those are the kind of flux guys it's probably a left-handed bat so to me just in a perfect world a left-handed bat who I'm only going to use probably Off the Bench for some pop I'm probably not going to use them that much as a pinch Runner because I've got Reyes for that now if he has speed great not the end all be I want a lefty with a little bit of Pop trust me I'm not doing this to defend DJ Stewart because DJ Stewart doesn't even have that said pop like yes he can technically hit home runs but he's had a crappy year but I'm trying to explain maybe where they're going with this do we not agree though because this is the way I'm laying it out of my thought is a left-handed bat would be a preference and position-wise do you need him to play the middle in field I it'd be nice but it's not essential because is now your super utility guy and hopefully he never plays Vientos Lindor acius and Alonzo should play boring injury every inning for the rest of the season in the infield so yes it's helps with your versatility to have a guy who could play the infield but it's not essential because Reyes is on this roster now I've describe the player that they could use DJ Stewart ain't it because he hasn't performed I'm with everybody on that guy's hitting 175 don't tell me that he draws walks occasionally he has had so many opportunities he ain't it but I would prefer a left-handed bat with a little bit of Pop they don't have that as an option right now other than DJ Stewart they they used to have that option and this is where the Mets effed up they had that option that option's name was Ben gaml Ben gaml hit a little bit while he was here B gaml can play a little defense and oh by the way when the Mets DFA Ben gaml he got picked up by the Astros and he's hitting there so the mistake that they made off was that they shouldn't have DFA gaml they should have DFA DJ Stewart no I get that but here's the thing is we have to and I understand that this may not be a move for the playoffs it's a move for the last three weeks of the Season somebody is probably going to get released waved on their team and the Mets have to claim them because DJ Stewart is not the answer DJ Stewart is reminiscent of Daniel vogle back just a little bit lighter no offense he does nothing he does absolutely nothing to this team you need to have if you're gonna get a left-handed B batter get someone that actually hits he doesn't do it he doesn't it's frustrating man yeah I think and that's why ultimately even though they don't have that left-handed option unless they held on to Ben gaml which they didn't it's too a little too late and unless someone else Pops in I think the guy I would call up is Luke rder because the thing about Luke Ritter is that while he's a righty okay so he's not a left-handed hitter he's had such a good year offensively at Triple A he at 26 home runs he's driven in a bunch of runs and I think maybe a catch lightning in a bottle maybe this guy coming up and being that bad Off the Bench and sometimes I even say this don't overthink Lefty righty so I'm trying to answer the question by describing yes I'd prefer a lefty but sometimes you can't overthink it you just have to put the best possible option up there and so he's not on the 40 man that's not that complicated I mean you can easily add him to the 40 man first of all you put Jeff mcneel on the 60 iil considering he's out for the season or you could DFA DJ Stewart so there are ways to get Ritter on of the 40 man and he does play everywhere which is a nice side benefit he's played first he's played second he's played third he's played The Outfield I think we've seen enough of DJ Stewart failing up here that we need to give someone else an opportunity the other thing that I heard that kind of bothered me even though I wouldn't say he's the guy to call up about Luis anel lunia was Mendy saying quote he needs to play every day so here's why I now have an issue with that he's played every day all season long there are two weeks left in the season in the Minor League season that's it two weeks I want you to ask yourself a question do you think Louis San heluna would be better ready to help the Mets next year by getting two more weeks in a place he's been all year long or sitting on the bench listening and learning from the guys on this roster in the middle of a penet race and even being thrown into the middle of a penet race even being thrown into a big opportunity where he gets into a game so if you don't want to call up Louis San heluna because you just don't think he's the best option right you like the idea of Luke Ritter's pop or even the crazy idea that DJ Stewart's gonna figure it out that's totally fine Luis an lunia has not had like this incredible season where he needs to be called up but don't give me this he needs to play every day crap that's an argument for June if it's the middle of the summer and we're pining for a prospect to be called up I'm totally with you guys got to play every day don't waste him or rot him on the bench at the major league level this is not wasting or rotting a guy on the bench this is learning this is watching and seeing and growing and dare I say being thrown into it I don't like that reasoning for why Louis Sanel aunia is not here Drew Gilbert's interesting he hasn't played a lot because of the injury but he is a left-handed bat he does have a little bit of Pop he does have a little bit of speed the question you got to ask yourself is is he best equipped to handle major league pitching do you think he is I think Luke Ritter is honestly the answer I I don't think it's that complicated I think what the Mets have to remember with David Sterns and Carlos Mendoza have to remember is something that Pete said all the way back in April one of your first impressions turned out to be really accurate about this Administration is that they hold people accountable right I did say that hold DJ Stewart accountable he hasn't been good he he doesn't deserve another opportunity to be up here striking out to end the game here's another crazy idea if if that's the route they don't want to take because they want him to play every day whatever you I think it's BS I think at this point in time sit on the bench like you said you could learn a lot from JD Martinez let's BC here but did you see what the Braves did to uh yesterday in terms of what a trade they made I missed that what trade did they make they traded for Cavin bigo now I'm not saying K bizo is anything to write home about but they're desperate for players so they made a trade for a player now he can't be added to the the playoff roster that's the Bugaboo but don't you want to get to the playoffs you can do that I mean there have been you know it's so funny thinking about those I remember Frank Tanana I think the Mets traded Frank Tanana to the Yankees uh in September so he wasn't going to be eligible to be on the postseason roster and I'm glad you brought that up because obviously yes if the Mets brought someone in from another organization whether it's via trade uh and obviously it would have to be minor league because you can't trade for anybody like you can claim a guy on waivers you can sign a guy after they're released the only kind of Trades that are allowed are guys that are in the minor leagues that's the only sort of Trades that can be made since we obviously had a trade deadline but they can't be on the postseason roster anybody that's in your organization prior to September 1st can be on postseason roster and I bring that up because Joe gianello asked that question Evan and Hall firsttime emailer longtime listener back to the Joe and Evan days I was wondering with mcneel's injury and the likelihood that the Mets call up DJ Stewart to replace him do you think it's still possible for Louis s haluna to get called up once the tripa season is over and if so would he be eligible for the postseason should the Mets make it given he wasn't on the major league roster by September 1st holding out hope that we won't need to see DJ for too long so yeah keep that in mind anybody in the organization would be eligible to come up so from that standpoint if an hunia gets the call after the minor league season's over even if it's the last few days of the Season he could be up here I don't think he's the best answer in my opinion but right now it feels like any answer would be better than TJ Stewart that's for sure uh Brian Smith had a great question especially related to Friday's game we have officially gotten to the point where Ron Darling and Gary Cohen have become openly critical of teams pitching to Mark Vientos with an open base and Pete Alonzo on Deck I realized this podcast is one Shameless Pete Alonzo Echo chamber that's not fair but a good argument against moving Vientos to first base next year and letting Alonzo walk no longer exists it's time to allocate Pete's money and all the cash coming off the books from Max JV mccar by as Pete doto and one to two Frontline starting pitchers Vientos will cost $1 million while Alonzo is still seeking judge money per a spor Eco article published last week clearly he won't get that but 20 to 25 million for one of the worst clutch hitters who also leads the league in base runner stranded in 24 whose slugging at home runs have plummeted is not a good investment enjoy the last month plus of Pete boys because it's vento's time now and that's what's best for the New York Mets I take his with where a Pete Alonzo Echo chamber I'd like for Pete Alonzo to come back but I think there are certainly things in this off season that can lead to him not coming back juano of course has to be a priority during the off season Vientos has the ability to shift over to first base but in a perfect world they won't have to do that because if you're shifting Vientos over to first base great problem solved who's your freaking third baseman but that's for next year and calling Pete the worst clutch hitter in baseball he's not had a clutch season I'd agree with that despite the big RBI single that he had on Saturday despite the fact that you brought up yeah you go back to Friday and it's amazing I didn't even think about it at the time but now with retrospect you got a base open Vientos had already had a home run earlier in the game you should walk him with pet on deck which sounds nuts but it probably does make sense but Pete having a down Year from a clutch standpoint and a year which he still has hit 31 home runs so far close to 80 RBI shouldn't be the end all that's it boys he's can't come back we'll see how the offseason unfolds we'll also see what happens over the next three weeks I ask you this Brian what if the Mets pick up where they left off after this noname winning streak ended what if they go out wi seven more in a row what if they sweep Atlanta in two weeks what if they win the World Series and pet Alonzo is the World Series MVP you gonna be saying the same thing now I know all that stuff is very unlikely but one can dream right look this whole season's been one big dream because when they were sitting there after Memorial Day I think we were all looking at ourselves saying oh my God these Ricos in August are going to be brutal oh my God what what are we gonna talk we're gonna be talking about one stto from uh June 10th on and somehow they've given us a season but now they got to finish the job three games coming up in Toronto against a blue jay team that has lost lost seven out of their last 10 and has had a very disappointing season and when you look at their lineup it's Vladimir Guerrero Jr and not much else they will face Chris Basset old friend Chris Basset on Friday who dominated them when they saw him last year they'll face Bowen Francis on Tuesday and Kevin gsman is going to start the finale of this series on a late Wednesday afternoon uh Paul Blackburn is coming back thankfully Tyler Mill for now is in the bullpen they do have to make a roster move to get Blackburn on the roster Alex Young continues to pitch well it would it seems like weird to send him down I like McGill being in the bullpen because I would want a long man so it does create the question of who would be the odd man out does wascar brazoban go back to the minor leagues we'll see how they handle that but Blackburn's coming back Monday David Peterson tries to continue His Brilliant season on Tuesday and then sha manah on Wednesday so they've got three in Toronto and then they've got three in Phil Philadelphia they have an off day on Thursday they then will Embark beginning with those three in Philly seven of 10 against the Philadelphia Phillies which we had talked about a while ago how wow they've got all those games up against the Philadelphia Phillies and it's even inspired a few to dream about catching Philadelphia and look that is a very unrealistic goal I mean you can say it like why not have the goal as a fan but the IDE that the Mets are going to make up all that ground on the Phillies is crazy Mike Caputo started dreaming about it saying seven with 17 to go payback it's been a great run I hope they continue to win more series and finish in the playoffs the pitching has been above expectations and the lineup has been getting clutch home runs a great combination I'll be realistic like you but if you want a dream it is kind of funny that when we could be about seven back with about 16 or 17 to go when we go to Philadelphia this weekend with seven games to play against them unfortunately we all witnessed 2007 when we had the seven game lead entering a weekend series and Philly came in a Shay and swept us it's not likely for us to reverse that 17 years later but that would be nice to put a little scare into the Phillies starting this Friday of course it'd be nice it'd be nice because if they put a scare into the Phillies they're likely to make the playoffs if they win enough of those games they could just make the playoffs it's very different than 2007 because in 2007 the way the Wild Card race worked out obviously back then there was only one wild card team there was no safety net you know now there's a safety net where if the Mets somehow did catch Philadelphia and they are seven games back with I guess technically it's seven back with 19 to go and back then it was seven with 17 to go so yeah we're pretty much at that same number if the Mets were to pull that off the Phillies are very likely to make the playoffs anyway so they do have that safety that now it' be a disaster in Philadelphia I mean to blow a lead like that would be crazy but I do think it's it's unrealistic this team just wenton nine in a row and how much ground did they actually gain on Philadelphia two games Phillies were playing well for a while till they lost these back-to-back games but yes they have a lot of games against them the problem I had was you're not winning all seven against them like winning five out of seven sure that's puncturing three games into that lead so I always thought going into that series The the Run of games they're about to play they needed to be four or five games out now they can still do that they can go sweep the Toronto Blue Jays and maybe the Philadelphia Phillies get tripped up they're about to play three games against Tampa Bay so yeah if they gain two more games in the standings and they're five out going into that series then I would say wow okay but right now now not even thinking about that it'd be it'd be great to have happened I'm thinking about somehow getting one of these Wild Card spots and luckily they've gained a lot of ground on San Diego and Arizona where the Diamondbacks and Padres are also right there in this National League Wild Card race so it' be a fun three days my goal very similar the goal I laid out coming into this home stand win the series in Toronto win the series in Philadelphia 4-2 before they come back home and they'll take on the Washington Nationals schedule continues to be trickier than everybody else so hopefully they could pick this up the scary thing when you have a big winning streak is that what how do you respond when it ends you know I I think back to 2018 Mickey Callaway's first year when they had the niname winning streak and they started 11 and one and they played like crap after that so very important after you have a long winning streak to then respond it ended Now respond three games against a mediocre blue jay team go respond we appreciate you listening and downloading you can always contact the RICO at the RICO gmail.com Rico gmail.com we'll try to pump out as many Ros as we can down the stretch of this season that's what Hoff and I are trying to do so can't guarantee we're gonna give you a RICO after every game but we're certainly going to try uh during the heat of this year I can guarantee we're not doing a RICO after game one of the series against the Blue Jays because that's also a jet Knight that's Aaron roders hopefully playing a full game for the New York Jets night but as far as Tuesday we'll see definitely Wednesday because I'll be recapping a series and we'll certainly give you an off day Rico on Thursday as well so a lot of Ros as we enter the final stretch of this 2024 Major League Baseball season thank you again very much for downloading subscribing and listening to another edition of Rico bronia we hope you enjoyed this episode of the RICO brono podcast it's amazing isn't it make sure you download it now to keep it on you at all times [Music]