The Mets broadcast provided their thoughts on several on several hot button topics in an interview with Steve Serby of the NY Post. Here are some of their most interesting responses.
90 wins or less?
Darling: 90 wins is a lot of wins when you’re coming from 79. That being said, it’s an 11-win jump. It’s been done a lot in baseball the last couple of years. We’re talking about two wins a month gets you 12 wins. I’m going to say right on the number. I think it’s gonna be 90 wins this year. And I think it’s gonna be just like the Mets team in ‘84 that won 90 games. I don’t know where they’re gonna finish, and I don’t know if it’s gonna include a wild-card spot or an NL East championship. But I think 90 wins is definitely attainable with this club. I think that this club, to me, smells a lot like the ‘84 team — a really good team, that knows they’re a good team, that is gonna make their mark. Whether that translates to the postseason, I don’t know. But really, this is a journey forward for the first time in a while.
Hernandez: I originally said if they won 85, it would be a disappointing season. I’ll stand on that one.
Expectations for Matt Harvey?
Darling: I was gonna judge him in such measured tones this year, just because of the injury, and I don’t think I’m going to. I think that the 15-18 months off depending on what calendar you use might be the new protocol for how you treat pitchers. And I dare to say — and again, this sounds like hyperbole, but I don’t feel like it is — he might be a clip better than he was in 2013. I’m gonna measure him as I did in those years, and that is expect only excellence from him. But the only issue is I’m gonna probably get it in shorter doses than I would want because of coming off an injury, but while he’s in there, I expect him to be as dominant as he was in 2013. If things go right, there’s no reason he can’t be a 15-game winner or more for this ball club because he’s playing for a little better ball club.
Hernandez: He looks great. He’s refined his stuff remarkably. If he stays healthy, he has a chance to win 20. We always talked in the past about having a stopper on your staff, you never go into any prolonged losing streaks. That’s what he could be.
Cohen: Based on what your eyes see, and how the hitters react, it’s hard not to expect this guy to be superhuman. Is that fair? No, not really, but that’s the force of what this guy brings to the table.
Does team have enough offense?
Darling: This is the most offense I’ve seen in a long time. The length of the lineup is just tremendous — to have [Travis] d’Arnaud batting seventh, who I think at some point can be a fifth-place hitter, to have [Michale] Cuddyer, I can’t say enough good things about Cuddyer. I hope I’m talking about him for 130 games and not 49 like he played last year — he brings a professionalism that’s hard to define. He just brings unselfishness. I think in today’s game, when money is so high, there tends to be, and it’s only human nature to be kinda selfish, about getting yours. He has come in, and all he talks about is getting ours, and it’s SO refreshing to hear. It makes me almost giddy to hear that kinda stuff because it harkens back to days of yore when I played.
Hernandez: We’ll have to wait and see. Granderson looks a whole lot more relaxed. Lagares, I LOVE what I’ve seen from him in the spring, he seems much more confident. I like what I’ve seen from Flores. I just sense that this team is less unsettled as far as the players are concerned. A lot of guys were just trying to establish themselves over this last two, three years as major leaguers, but I just get this sense that they feel like they belong, and that’s a big step, they’re able to relax, they look more comfortable in spring, which I feel is a big stride for this club. They’re ready to step up into the big leagues.
Bounce-back season from Wright?
Darling: I expect a huge season from David. Why? I think it’s kind of a perfect storm. He’s older, it’s the second year of his captaincy, we’ve already seen him do a couple of things in spring training that are so proactive and that he’s never done before. He’s got a good team around him, so he’s protected. I think that David in the past has tried to do too much, he knows he’s not gonna have to do that, there’s others to pick him up. He’s healthy — I mean, there’s just SO many things working in his favor, that I think this is the year where people — even his owner said he wasn’t sure he was a superstar elite player. I think this is the year that he puts all that naysay to rest.
Wilmer Flores at shortstop?
Hernandez: I like Flores at short, I like everything he’s done. He doesn’t have the greatest of range, his footwork was always a bit of a concern. He looks quicker with his feet. He’s very sound fundamentally catching ground balls, he gets in front, he uses two hands, he’s not a Fancy Dan. I think anything that he can get to, he’s gonna make the play. Wally (Backman) told me he was one of his best clutch hitters, and Wally thinks he’ll be fine. That’s enough for me.
Thoughts: The Mets broadcast team is one of the best in the game, and they usually aren’t afraid to speak minds. So it’s encouraging to hear them have a positive outlook of the season.
The Mets already hit the ground running with a win on Opening Day, and they will look to build off of this momentum in tonight’s game against Jordan Zimermann and the Nationals.
