Ethan and Andy Go to Citi
Ethan and Andy talk about all things New York Mets.
Ethan and Andy Go to Citi
Ethan and Andy Go to Citi Episode 7
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Knicks in 5!
Ethan and Andy go to city. Hello, Andy. Hi, Ethan. How are you? Good. Good to see you again. Thank you. I'm uh I'm one year older now than than when last time we spoke.
SPEAKER_01I know. It's a lot.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it's a lot. And um the Mets are not helping buoy my my spirits in any way, shape, or form. So we don't have that to fall back on, unfortunately. I was thinking maybe instead of talking for you know 25 to 30 minutes on this on this particular episode, we should just bang our heads on the wall for 30 minutes.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I think it's a performance art. It's kind of all we have left. Yeah. And we could do it, you know. Let's go. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02Have a nice rhythm going. That's good.
SPEAKER_01We can have a brick wall right over here, you know, that would be good.
SPEAKER_02That's perfect.
SPEAKER_01I guess we should remember to do well, welcome to another episode of Ethan and Andy. Go to City. How about them next? Yeah, exactly. I'm not I'm not a big basketball guy, but uh neither am I, but that second half of last night was amazing.
SPEAKER_02Insane historical. Um, so maybe because this is not a basketball uh podcast, it's a baseball podcast, maybe that 29-point deficit can serve as inspiration for our boys to turn things around on the baseball diamond.
SPEAKER_01And then no matter how grim things look, it is possible to until until you're mathematically eliminated.
SPEAKER_02I have you know, I we've talked about this before. I think we're both part of being a Mets fan is to like expect the worst, but you always there's always this unfounded optimism. And I'm now at a point where I'm finding that very hard to tap into. I wish I I wish that were not the case, but it's just it's it's hard to see any silver lining here.
SPEAKER_01They win a couple of games and then you know that it's most they play go on the road trip and it's three and three, which is better than a losing world trip, um road trip, but still it's not getting you anywhere.
SPEAKER_02Right. I mean, they they dug a hole so deep, but it's early enough that you're like, okay, muscle up, turn this thing around. But now, I mean, it's still early-ish, but it's boy, they're just not and they still, you know, they're nine games under 500. That's a lot. But in an era where a lot of teams make the playoffs, where you can make make the postseason with an 83-win, 84-win season, it's not impossible. But they're just not showing any signs of it.
SPEAKER_01I know, and that's the thing. I mean, we're expecting players back, including especially Lindor back, you know, hopefully by the end of the month, and Alvarez is back and he got a home run right away. But it's like even if they play well now, it's not gonna be enough to make up for the start of the season. Oh, you're right.
SPEAKER_02They have to play spectacularly, yeah. Yeah, it really does show you, too, though, how much of uh of this team rides on the back of Lindor. I mean, I mean, they sucked when when Soto went out too, but it's just without those two guys, they're they're a hollow team.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_01And Bichette, in like the last week or so, has started to at least have a few games where he's gone multiple hits and it's been like the player we thought he was.
SPEAKER_02But but what you want to see, I don't know if you remember when the Mets had Brett Butler. Do you remember those that season? They only had him for a few months, and he was really underperforming his like the back of his baseball card until like the last two weeks they had him before they traded him. He went on this tear to because Brett Butler was all about his on base percentage and things of that sort. And he just like it in like a two-week period, it all rose to like match his what his career was, and then they traded him. Um, and that's what you need from Bachet. It's not like, oh, okay, a couple hits here. He needs to go on a tear and get that OPS. His OPS, he doesn't have a prayer of getting into the 800s this year, I don't think. I mean, he'd have to go on an insane tear to get it that high. That's I that's so disappointing to me. And he's also not somebody we know. Like if if if if you know Nimma were still on this team, a homegrown kid that we've all come to love and love his smile and all that, and he scuffles, you root him on and you're like, but but but shit, we don't know him that well, so he's pure disappointment.
SPEAKER_01Well, exactly. And not to go back to Alonzo because that's just a lost cause, but it's like he started off slow and now he's at like I think 13 or 14 home runs and 30 RBIs, and you know, he's gonna have a typical Alonzo year, and it's like it's easy to put up with that when you know the player.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely, yeah, absolutely. And when you yeah, and when you want to root him on and you feel like he's one of yours, you know. Um and that I think was something that Stearns did just not think about. It was like, you know, that routine about uh we I guess Seinfeld routine, we all root for the laundry. It's not quite true. It's not quite true.
SPEAKER_01So yeah. And you know, to put in uh, I don't know exactly a good word for Stearns, but with Nimmo no longer there, that really gave the opportunity for Benj and then Ewing to come up and you know get off to slow starts and you know and make their way. And now they've really sort of settled into where they seem to be very capable major league players and maybe more than that. And if Nimmo was still in the outfield, that neither might not have happened.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, that's true. I mean, you might have had room for one, but you're right. I mean, I think you bring up the only bright spot spot on this team, and the thing we can talk about that might put a smile on your face is they got some kids that are fun to watch.
SPEAKER_01Watching Benge and Ewing, you know, make great catches and hit the ball. I mean, it is exciting.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. And you can envision a time when they're closer together in the batting order and really setting the table. And you know, Benge, I think, probably has more RBI potential than than Ewing does. But I mean, uh, Ewing has sort of a Dykstra feel to me without the you know, all the all the baggage. So like in terms of just like at least not yet. And like grinding, yeah, exactly. In in terms of like grinding things out and getting on base and making things happen. Yeah, it's I mean, that's at least something to smile about.
SPEAKER_01And Christian Scott has become uh, you know, a decent pitcher. He's got in the first two wins, I think, now. And look good doing it.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, um, yeah. I was not a huge Scott believer because when they brought him up in 24, he had been giving up a ton of home runs to the minor leagues, and then he gave up a bunch when he got to the majors, and I was like, well, how is that surprising? But he's really suppressed the home run this year, and um, and that's everything. Once once he does that, he's uh he's made me a believer, which is nice.
SPEAKER_01He's fully recovered from injury, and hopefully, uh, you know, he can actually have a full season this this time around.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. And it's also easy to forget that McClean is a kid too. Uh there's room for improvement there. He's he's been, you know, he had a little bit of a rough patch, and hopefully he's you know, put that in the rear view. But um, yeah, those are some guys to dream on, which is which is nice.
SPEAKER_01And I was also reading about McClane uh because originally he was a two-way player, a version of Otani, and he finally gave up hitting, so he's not even concentrated on his pitching exclusively, only for the last year and a half.
SPEAKER_02That's true. That's very true. Yeah. Uh Bench was a a two-way player too, which speaks a lot to their athleticism, too. You know what I mean? Like if you watch McClane on the mound, um, you know, as a fielder, it'd be great to if we could if we didn't have the DH where we could see him hit. But like you can see that he's not just a pitcher, he's an athlete. And I think the same is true of Benjamin, and I think the same is probably true of Ewing as well. And then the rest sucks.
unknownExactly.
SPEAKER_02No, I mean, uh, we talked about this a little bit before, but the the drums are beating very loudly right now for Vientos, and he's really kind of proven himself to be a one-dimensional player, and that's a hitter, and he's not even a good hitter. So I I guess that would be a zero-dimensional player.
SPEAKER_01Oh, exactly.
SPEAKER_02Um, which is a shame. I remember when they when the Mets drafted Vientos, and I was um I followed him not religiously, but I followed him through the minor leagues, and I was kind of a fan. And I always like, you know, the Mets develop a lot of pitchers over the years. I always like when they develop a bat because it seemed for years they didn't do that. Um, but I you know, I think he is what he is now.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. I mean, he basically is a platoon DH at his best. Yeah, it's not saying that much. Yeah, no, that's pretty bad. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02And Beatty's not, I mean, Beatty gives you more, brings more to the plate than or so to speak.
SPEAKER_01Um no, his defense has definitely improved over the last year or so, but that gets him to like an average level.
SPEAKER_02If that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02If that, uh, because his bat is just it's weird because he really could hit in the miners, but he's uh I you know, and they both have had um been given a lot of runway, and neither has launched. I think you can keep Beatty around as sort of a a a decent bench player and all that, but but I think he can play multiple positions, but exactly. There's some there's some value to Beatty that I just don't think Viantos has. I mean, Viantos has you you can always dream on his power, but if he's not gonna deliver it, then what's the point?
SPEAKER_01Right. And you I think you trade him if you could get anything for him, and there's always possibility that suddenly in a new environment he discovered, but you know, he's not discovering it here.
SPEAKER_02That certainly seems to be the case. Yeah, if you can get the proverbial bag of balls for him, then you go ahead and do that. Um but it's a shame because like that he was so electrifying in 24, and especially in the postseason, he was just I mean, I was dreaming on him. I thought, wow, this is even if he doesn't maintain this, what he was doing then, he would still look like a really valuable bat, and now he's just a strikeout or a double play.
SPEAKER_01No, and and he uh defensively is a is a zero. I mean, you know, and sort of thank God for uh Jared Young.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, who's he's been a bit of a of a of a bright a bright spot for sure.
SPEAKER_01I mean he plays first base capably, and yeah, which yeah, he's about the only one who does, and uh and he hits somewhat, and thank God we have him.
SPEAKER_02He's uh he's not a kid, but he's uh but he's a nice piece to have. I didn't I I was reading some things where people were kind of optimistic about him, and I didn't understand why, but now I get it. Um yeah, so okay, so we found some green shoots, not a lot, but some yeah.
SPEAKER_01So I guess those the scenario is is that Lindor and everybody else comes back from injury, that they so then you have Lindor and Soto together, and hopefully Bichette gets better and they can start putting a couple of series wins together, and then we see where we are. Man, they have to get to 500 before anything else.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, but there's so much nice about getting Lindor back, but it also reshapes the top of that lineup because you can move Bichette to like number six if you want to, you know. I it personally I think he should have been down there weeks ago anyway. But if you had, you know, Lindor up top or Benge up top and Lindor second, you know, whichever, but Lindor, Benjamin and Soto's one, two, and three, that's a lot longer a lineup than than Mr. Out Bichet in the middle of that. The only thing you got to remember about Lindor is he had like 15 seconds of spring training, too. He's not had a lot of baseball this year, so we have to, I think we have to temper our expectations a little bit about what he's gonna bring us, at least when he first comes back.
SPEAKER_01Though the one, not exactly silver lining, but with that hammote bone uh surgery had that as they said the one thing that takes longer to get back is power. Yeah. And so he's had a vacation.
SPEAKER_02He has had a vacation.
SPEAKER_01So maybe at least that might return quicker than we think. Right. Well, yes, kind of. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02If you have a very odd prism, you're looking through quicker. Yeah, it comes back in June, which is what we'd expected in the first place. Let's talk about Alvarez too a little bit. Like I think that there's a lot of people who are kind of skeptical on Alvarez, but yeah, I'm oh I love the guy. He's not as great behind the plate as I thought he would be. But you have to remember he's really for catchers develop late often. And he was up here at 21 or 22, and um and boy, that guy heals. I know. I mean, they were saying six to eight weeks, and he was back in four.
SPEAKER_01And it's great. I mean, and hopefully he is fully healed. He seems to be. He's been doing fine. I know. Short, short small sample spots. Exactly. I mean, you know, it's the only thing anything to do with knee when you're a catcher worries me.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely, absolutely. I mean, he gets hurt a lot, but yeah, but just having even if you give Terence more playing time than perhaps you were initially thought, because he's a very good catcher, having Sanger not be not get any of those at bats is gonna be a bonus. It's just gonna be a bonus. So so it's good to have him back. I I at this point I don't I don't think we're gonna see Robert, or if we do, it it'll be very late in the game, and I don't know that I don't know what the heck's going on with Polanco.
SPEAKER_01I know. It sounds like it uh that that hurts. I mean, you know, he's playing through pain. Yeah, you know, and even if you know you wish sometimes they might push a little bit, but you know, how much is he gonna give you if he's every time he moves, he's in pain. And as I said, I mean, at the moment, Jared Young seems to be holding down first base. I mean, hopefully Polanco would have given you more power, but right.
SPEAKER_02But you get let's say you get Polanco. If you had a Polanco back, you'd still have Young, but he would be, you know, maybe you platoon him when Polanco's you know DHing or and um Young also plays some outfield. Not that I think you want a lot of them out there, but what it does is it puts a guy like Melendez back in the minor leagues. It it just increases your depth when you have at the very least competent major leaguers on the roster. And that's you know, there's a lot of guys who should be first call up from triple A in emergencies who are getting far too many at bats this year's season.
SPEAKER_00No, exactly.
SPEAKER_02Um you might even say that of Ewing. I mean, Ewing was what he had, three games in triple A or something, not maybe not even. And uh, I mean he should be he should be somebody that you look forward to, not somebody who's like you're counting on.
SPEAKER_01Well, I think or he's the exception that proves the rule that Ewing boy happened to be ready, but that's not true for many of these either young rookies or not over-the-hill major leaguers, but right seen better days.
SPEAKER_02But and then looking forward, I mean, I always get mad. I this drives me crazy. Like people start talking about the trade deadline in April, and uh and I tried not to like engage in that kind of thing because um there's still a lot of baseball left to play this season and anything can happen. So I don't like talk about because you also don't know who your trading partners could possibly be. Well, that's the thing.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, everybody else is still trying to figure out, so they're not necessarily gonna want to uh give up a lot for now.
SPEAKER_02You could maybe move a good pitcher, like like I could see a team saying, Well, what's the harm in getting a Peralta now? Because A, he's cheap, he's only making like eight million this year, and you know he's competent, right? Um, but otherwise you can't really, I don't think you can plan this far in advance. But what I was gonna say is injuries have played a large part in what's gone wrong, but they're not the only thing that's gone wrong in this season. And so you have I I start to wonder about what is what are the steps to fix it, and I don't know what those are.
SPEAKER_01No, it's true. And you know, they were saying how the Met's minor league system has improved, but we've promoted a lot of the best players in the system. So are we replenishing?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, there's not a lot. I mean, um, there's a f a few names you see, but nobody in the in the minor leagues is having a particularly good year. I see a lot of people getting excited about Clifford, but um I mean he strikes out at like 30% in the minors. I don't I don't I don't think he's a player. I mean, I hope he proves me wrong, but I don't I don't think he's a player.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_01Well he just he definitely I mean he's the the sort of the mirror image of Ewing. Ewing was ready, and Clifford definitely at most has at least needs another year in the minors. I would think.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I mean he's got to get that swinging miss under control, otherwise he'll get eaten alive by by major league pitchers. But but yeah, I mean I don't there's not a ton. I mean, a lot of people graduated and there's some exciting players, and that's good, but the the downside of graduating your players is that you empty out your your farm system and there's not a ton whatever this is like the wave after the the you know the Alonz and the and the um uh and the McNeils, right? But the wave after this isn't even really on the horizon yet. So you gotta hope these guys flourish.
SPEAKER_01No, and always if uh if they do end up uh selling more than uh buying at the trade and they uh trade Peralta and they trade I don't know who else, but you would hope they would get good minor league prospects in return to sort of replenish the system.
SPEAKER_02Those days seem to be kind of behind us, though. I mean like even if you think about the big sell-off of 23, you know, uh none of those guys like we traded we traded um we traded Gilbert to to San Francisco, we traded um uh Acunya to the White Sox. Um a lot of those guys just yeah that I mean that Clifford is like the last one of those guys who's still on the uh in the in the system. So um so even even if you get good guys, they don't always they don't always flourish, they don't always blossom.
SPEAKER_01So I know oh my god.
SPEAKER_02Um what other depressing things do you want to talk about?
SPEAKER_01Well, I mean, I guess let's go through the rotation just to complete the nine circles of hell.
SPEAKER_02Should we get our cups of hemlock ready? Exactly. All right, sure. The rotation. Yeah you go.
SPEAKER_01Certainly Peralta is a competent pitcher, but he hasn't really shown it the last outing or two. So that last outing was terrible. Yeah. And he can't seem to get past five or six innings back, and you know. Right, but it supposedly he is our ace or number one pitcher, and you would like it a little bit, a little more length. Yeah. Um McClain is gonna be fine in the long run, but he's going through a rough patch right now.
SPEAKER_02Although his last outing was much better. Yep.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. And Christian Scott, I think, is seemingly uh good number three pitcher.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I think he's a number three with the potential to be like a number a very good number two.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02But we I think we have to anticipate some growing pains with him too, in the same way that McLean's experiencing them.
SPEAKER_01No, it's true. And then I don't know where you get. I mean, because unfortunately, I mean, Holmes maybe comes back in August. Uh, but if we don't trade him. Yeah. And Mania has seemingly shown some signs of, you know, getting it together and getting his velocity up. And so maybe he gets a chance on the rotation in the next week or two.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, but he's not uh he's certain he's certainly not showing the end of 24 skills that he had, but he's better now than he was at the beginning of the year for sure.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. And uh Peterson, uh what happened to that guy? I have no idea.
SPEAKER_02Yesterday he was awful. Six runs and three innings. And they used him as the as the bulk guy.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, that's really sad. And then of course Senga, who I think you can never ever count on. No. You know, I was I I kept saying to people, like, this guy needs his mechanics to be perfect. And somebody said to me, All pitchers need their mechanics to be perfect. And so I realized that that's not the right complaint. The right complaint is this guy's mechanics get thrown off so incredibly easily. Like that's that's mind-boggling to me. Like he's he's you know, the the uh the flap of a butterfly's wings, right? Like if a butterfly flaps its wings in Uganda, suddenly Sangha's Sanger can't get the right grip on his ghost fork, you know. I mean, it's crazy.
SPEAKER_01And even given that, you know, the terrible throw that Alonzo made last year that caused seemingly causes injury. I mean, okay.
SPEAKER_02I mean, he had to jump to get it, but it wasn't like Yeah, and and and injuries happen and you gotta come back. It wasn't like I mean, people come back from shoulder injuries and elbow injuries. This was a this was a hamstring injury. Like this is people come back from that every year, many, many times. There's that that's just no excuse for it. I just he's he's a very he's a he's like a a fighter jet. Very powerful when he's on, but boy, they take a lot of maintenance.
SPEAKER_01I know. No, and even you know, when he started in the playoffs after being out for most of the season, I mean, and he just really didn't have it. I mean, it's like so I I don't know. If you trade him, I don't know what you get back.
SPEAKER_02The only traitable thing about Sangha is that he's relatively inexperienced. Yeah. No, he's I've I almost would just assume not have him back up on the team. It's just it's just you know one or two ineffective starts and then he's got a blister. I mean, like, I don't know. He's just he's just he's not durable, he's not he's not reliable. No.
SPEAKER_01No, I know. I mean he probably he probably should go back to Japan and like I mean, seriously, and probably would do much better there that you know probably that is the right environment for him.
SPEAKER_02I mean, he showed so much his rookie year that that it's hard to believe we're having this conversation. It's not like he hasn't proven he can pitch, you know, uh in the major leagues. And like it wasn't just a he's a Japanese-only pitcher, because he he did have success here. It just has it just poof, it went away. Yeah, it just went away. We should talk a little bit about Jonah Tong, because he's sort of like the next wave, but he's really struggling.
SPEAKER_01Right. And you just don't know. I mean, so he probably does need more time in the minors, but you see the potential there. I mean, he has so many different pitches, and yes, he has that sort of funky delivery. So either that's gonna work or they're gonna have to figure out a way to like temper it a little bit. I think he just needs time. I, you know, I still I still believe in him, like that he can be a capable major league pitcher and maybe even better than that.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I hope so. I mean, I know that they did tweak his delivery a little. He's not quite as over the top as he was, but the results aren't there. So maybe, maybe you go back. And the other thing, too, is if he doesn't make it as a starter, I think he'd be really powerful out of the pen. Yes. And there's that's that's nothing to be ashamed of. It used to be, but it's not anymore.
SPEAKER_01No, I mean, he could be sort of the perfect setup man, you know, if somebody like that who can throw many different pitches and different looks, and then you give way to the 100 mile an hour closer.
SPEAKER_02Well, not in our case, but yeah, I know.
SPEAKER_01And then what is it? Like, is David Williams pitched at all like in the last three weeks?
SPEAKER_02I mean, a little, but not a lot. Well, what do you yeah, we are how do you how do you come in as to lock down a save if there's no save situation?
SPEAKER_03He didn't know.
SPEAKER_02He did give up uh was that catcher on the Padres who like just killed us. He gave up a run. Like I hit a double the ninth, but we we had the game in hand, so it wasn't a save situation, and the run doesn't really matter. But um, well, it's tough. Yeah, it's really tough to be this. It reminds me of those late 70s years where like by June you knew it was done, you know. I I still hold out a little bit of hope because Lindor is such a dynamic player, but um, but boy, they dug themselves a hole.
SPEAKER_01I know.
SPEAKER_02But sometimes inspired baseball happens. We'll see.
SPEAKER_01Exactly. And you would hope that you would really get a clear sense that like over the course of a season that Benjamin Ewing are for real, and that you're at the very least setting yourself up for the future.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, but that wasn't what this year was supposed to be. No, it was not, and that's the problem. This is what 24 was supposed to be setting yourself up for the future, and there was a lot of promise there. But boy, that seems like a long time ago now. I know. Amazing. Anything else? No, I think uh unfortunately that is it. Unfortunately, or perhaps mercifully hopefully we have something really exciting to talk about next time. Yeah, that's the glory of baseball.
SPEAKER_01Exactly.
SPEAKER_02You never know, right?
SPEAKER_01And hopefully Knicks and five, and we have a uh ticker tape parade for them.
SPEAKER_02Yep, that would be great. This city's gonna go absolutely insane if the next if the Knicks win it. Absolutely insane. I'm gonna still say if and not when. Exactly. Because I don't want to be the guy who jinxed them.
SPEAKER_01True enough. But no, I mean I had a picture of when it was all tied up, and then it was so clear that the Spurs would take it out, you know, and win the series.
SPEAKER_02But yeah, did not happen. No, yeah. It was funny. I did my laundry this morning and on the way down, get into an elevator, everybody's talking about the Knicks. I get out of the basement, put my laundry in, get back in the elevator, different group of people. Everybody's talking about the Knicks. It was it was amazing. And this um, this town is such a basketball town when it when you get right down to it, even though you know baseball season can sort sort of dominate, especially among baseball fans. But yeah, boy, this team, this city loves the Knicks.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. And the Nets have never really done it, even in Brooklyn.
SPEAKER_02I wanted them to, being a Brooklyn boy. I thought, oh, you know, this is great. Like, you know, my mom and dad. Well, my dad was a Yankee fan, but my mom got to grow up with a Brooklyn Dodgers. This is really great to have the Brooklyn team again, but yeah, they really haven't kind of captured our imagination in that way. So anyway.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So the end of another episode of Ethan and Andy go to city. And hopefully next time we'll have better uh news to report. Absolutely. It's getting redundant, yes.
SPEAKER_02Thanks again, Ethan.
SPEAKER_01All right, all right, talk to you soon. Yep.