Talking to Todd Frazier in the Met clubhouse after last night’s Met 9-0 win over the Phillies you got the sense he is trying to make up for time has missed. He crushed a grand slam homer after Jeff McNeil was intentionally walked to load the bases and he says that he was extremely motivated in that at-bat to crush the ball out of the park.

He also began to talk about this Met team that he feels is the most talented squad in this division but knows he and his mates must prove that on the field as the NL East is both deep and talented. While he was getting ready for the season nursing injuries he was watching this Met team start the year and from his perspective, they showed that they have the most balanced team around.

He raved about Jeff McNeil who is off to such a good start and knows that the bullpen and the offense got deeper and more talented. But he also readily admits that most teams in this division improved their rosters as well-meaning early season games inside the NL East take on an added significance.

The Mets have done well in the early going inside the division going 11-7 with a majority of those games being played on the road which is why a veteran player like Frazier knows a great statement would be to complete a three-game sweep here at Citi Field on Wednesday night which would send a message to the Phillies and all the NL East teams that CitiField will be a real tough place to get wins in 2019 if you are the road team.

The health of Frazier delayed his start to the season but make no mistake about it–he is a true leader inside that clubhouse and his power stroke will be yet another bat opposing pitchers will have to navigate through when facing the Mets. And we all got a taste of that last night at Citi–as his grand slam put this one to bed.

Frazier has told me he has been waiting for a year like this his whole career–a talented roster with players that are great teammates and care about only one thing-a team win. In a way it describes the way Todd Frazier lives his baseball life–individual accomplishments are nice, but that W in the standings is what defines success.

And this Met team knows that because of leadership like that lives up and down that locker room every single day.