Dodgers Territory - Roki Sasaki's Woes, Mookie's Outlook; Marc Luino Talks Mets!

Episode Date: March 5, 2026

Alanna Rizzo, Katie Woo, and Clint Pasillas discuss the biggest underlying story at spring training for the Los Angeles Dodgers. What, if anything, is wrong with Roki Sasaki (2:45)? Plus other Dodgers news and notes, including Santiago Espinal's status on the team (1:04), and insight from Katie about 2026 bounce-back candidate Mookie Betts (9:16). (12:02) Marc "GiraffeNeckMarc" Luino helps us continue our series looking at the top competition for the Dodgers this season with today focusing on the New York Mets. How do they look following a busy offseason of additions and subtractions? Check out DT merch at dodgersterritoryshop.com Support Guidry's Guardian at guidrysguardian.org Find Clint on YouTube at youtube.com/@alldodgers Follow Katie's work at The Athletic www.nytimes.com/athletic/author/katie-woo/  Subscribe to Dodgers Territory on YouTubeRate and review our podcast on Apple and SpotifySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I'm Daniel Alarcon, and this is my friend. This is much more famous than I am. I wouldn't go that far, but I'm John Green, co-host at the podcast The Away End, with my old friend Daniel. On our podcast, The Away End, we'll share with you the magic of international football, all leading up to the 2026 World Cup. Together, we'll find out why, of all the unimportant things, football, soccer, is the most important. Listen to The Away End with Daniel Alarcon and John Green on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

Then she says, have you seen a photo of my son? And I'm like, who is this person? Welcome to the Boys and Girls podcast. Arranged Marriage is basically a reality show and you're auditioning for your soulmate. And who's judging? Only your entire family? I sacrificed myself to this ancient tradition,

hoping to find love the right way. And instead, I found chaos, comedy and a lot of cringe. Listen to Boys and Girls on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. On the Ceno Show podcast, each episode invites you into a raw, unfiltered conversations about recovery, resilience, and redemption. On a recent episode, I sit down with actor,

cultural icon, Danny Trail, to talk about addiction, transformation, and the power of second chances. The entire season two is now available to bench, featuring powerful conversations with the guests like Tiffany Addish, Johnny Knoxville, and more. I'm an alcohol.

And without this probe, I'm going to die. Listen to the Cino Show on the I-Hart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast. The Dodgers are clearly better than the Mets as it stands right now and the Dodgers are clearly the best team in baseball. But in order for the Mets to even have a shot, they're just going to need some of these acquisitions that they brought in this year to continue to stay strong.

Everybody and welcome to a brand new episode on this Thursday of Dodgers territory along with Clint Paseas and Katie Wu. I'm Alana Rizzo. The three of us are going to be taking you through this brand new show. Good to be with the two of you. you and good to be with all of you listening and watching on YouTube. Don't forget to rate us five stars. Like and subscribe to Dodgers Territory,

our podcast on Apple, Spotify, wherever you get your pods, and you can certainly subscribe on YouTube as well as we try to get to 20,000 subs. Lots to talk about guys coming off of our show on Monday. Let's get to the big ticket. Katie, I'll start with you. Santiago Espinall. Seems like he's making a bigger case for himself to be on the opening day,

roster with the Los Angeles Dodgers. That's kind of the top story this week in addition to Roki Sasaki. But let's talk about Santiago Espinal for a second. Do you think he's in lock, my friend, for opening day? What I think is that this has shown that we are ball knowers on the show because we talked about this yesterday. And what does Dave Roberts do? He makes us look smart, said to reporters at Camelback Ranch that Espinall has been in seamlessly with the group, which I believe we paraphrase, is very close to what we talked about just on our observations. So this to me, I think, is it's obviously very encouraging for the Dodgers to have another depth piece there. They do such a good job at finding players and signing them to these minor league deals.

And I know we talked about the complexities of adding someone to the 40-man roster, the Dodgers above all really care about those 40-man spots. But Espinall has kind of really taken advantage of that opportunity given to him by Kim going to the WBC. and he, again, fits all the parts that the Dodgers are looking for in terms of someone who can play around the diamond. And he's done an excellent job so far. So not exactly surprising at all to see Dave Roberts say that today. Don't forget, guys, we continue our series of talking about the Dodgers' biggest competitors in terms of the opposition in the National League. We're excited to have Mark Lewino joining us.

He's on the Mets Up podcast. So after the Phillies, we feel like it's the Mets next in line in terms of the team. of who's going to be the biggest competitors. So that's coming up in just a second. But let's talk a little bit more about the other big story, Clint. And I want your opinion on this because you and I were texting back and forth about this situation in Roki Sasaki's latest outing. And it didn't look good.

I mean, he got pulled after giving up a grand slam in the first inning, couldn't record an out. Dave Roberts was saying that he doesn't think there are concerns after yet another shaky Roki Sasaki start. There just has to be continued progression. So, Clint, I ask you this. Have you seen enough progress? He's had a couple of outings, neither of which were particularly good.

I don't know. It's real weird with Roki because obviously he continues to struggle in that first inning. He seems to be having some sort of mechanics issues early in his outings, and then he gets pulled and all of a sudden, you know, I don't know if he goes and like smacks his head against a wall, lock something in, and then he finds something with either his lower body being off or his upper body being off, probably just a little bit too much in his own head. I would wonder that a little bit out loud because I think he's really trying to make a pretty big impression here. But I think he to himself is as much of a mystery of time as he is to the Dodgers.

Dave Roberts had, we'll call this a bit of a Daveism. Long quote about it mentioning, you know, he doesn't have concerns yet about Rokey. He doesn't think there's concerns doubling down on it. You know, he wants the, I'm not going to read the whole thing. If you guys are watching, pause it and read it. But the point is, you know, he appreciates that he's being more open, but maybe he needs some more coaching. Maybe I think Dave is trying to lead Roki to wanting to take a little bit more advice from the team rather than try to gung-ho it on his own. And we were talking before the show, guys, about, you know, in his first start, he was going to the pitchcom, did not have an abundance of success with the pitchcom.

Mark Pryor goes out and talks to him in game one. He's like, hey, shut up and listen to us. And then he goes and mows down a couple of hitters. I don't know. It feels like everything's just very jumbled with Roki. A bit of miscommunication continuing on both sides. Katie, what do you kind of seeing with the team and Roki? So I'm firmly in the camp of let's calm down about Roki Sasaki.

It is March 5th. He's thrown five total innings. And look, I know that his last outings. first inning was disastrous. He comes out and he misses arm's side, four fastballs. It doesn't look good. Then he comes out and makes the mechanical change, and the next two innings are so much better.

And that's what spring training is about. It's about making those changes in real time, getting comfortable because these games don't matter. And it's not like there are any alarming signs in terms of velo being down. It's just a command issue. And if Roki said it was a command issue and it was all mechanics and he came out in the second and third inning

and it looked as bad as it did in the first, okay, then maybe we can dive into this a little bit more. But I think this is very clearly an example of a pitcher sensing something was wrong, the team going out and fixing it, and then he comes out and makes the adjustment. And I get why we react so strongly the way that we do about Roki Sasaki. He's a generational talent. The ceiling is so high with this guy. And he's going to be so important in this rotation going throughout the year.

But right now we're five innings in. Let's pump the brakes, give him the spring. And then come April, if we're still still. seeing the same kind of inconsistencies, then we can kind of press the panic button. But right now, take a collective deep breath, trust the process, all the cliches. It's spring training. I don't see anything to be super concerned about at the moment. Yeah, I should add. I'm not quite there on the concern level yet either. I want to see at least, well, I want to see a spring training's worth of start and starts and probably three to five starts in the regular season before

we start to actually panic. Like right now, I said this yesterday somewhere. It's like, right now, you're just kind of taking some notes. You're giving yourself points to watch and keep an eye on. But if it continues and that consistently consistent being bad in the first continues, then, you know, they're going to have to figure something out because you can't always be down one or two or ten runs in the first inning, guys. It's tough to win to get a ballgame that way, Riz. No, it is. It's tough to do that. But one thing that I know for certain is that River Ryan has been impressive in camp. And I know that we keep saying that spring training results don't matter. I do believe they matter a little bit more for a guy that's not necessarily a lock for an opening day roster.

But Bill Plunkett, who covers the Dodgers for the Orange County Register, Dave Roberts said this about River Ryan after two innings today. I thought he looked like a major league pitcher today and not just a guy with a lot of stuff. So, Katie, what do you take that to mean? It seems like he's really honing in on his craft, becoming more of a pitcher than a thrower. Yeah, and we talked about this yesterday's show where River Ryan, I think, from just my opinion, came in and looked a little bit behind in terms of establishing the BLL and establishing the command. But obviously, there's a much different mentality going into live action games than live BP's.

So this is, I think, really exciting for River Ryan, especially given the unfortunate news with Gavin Stone, because it opens the door for a guy who projects to be maybe a little bit more ahead of schedule than the Dodgers first envisioned. And again, we talk about the rotation a lot, Emmett Shee and Justin Robleski, like River Ryan can be right there. And the way that the Dodgers use their rotation, they essentially go through nine or ten starting pitchers a season. And, you know, most majorly teams actually do do that, but they have to go into their AAA depth and maybe promote guys that aren't ready. I think River Ryan is well establishing that he can be ready and he can be an impactful member of this rotation. And the Dodgers will need him to do so. So I'm with you, Bras, like, yes, we don't want to overreact over spring performances.

But for guys that are looking to kind of force the narrative, same with like Espinall, having a good spring, does do a lot. And then you can kind of like play both sides of the card for Roki. Okay, he's not doing well, but it's spring training. So we can kind of flip this to it benefits both players here. But for River Ryan, I agree with you. I think it's been a much more encouraging spring than maybe first envisioned. Yeah, the kids got good stuff.

We don't need to talk too much about him. Obviously, I talk way too much about River Ryan, but I like him as a five-pitched dude, upper 90s fastball. And for this guy to be one of the guys who's maybe, you know, fifth or sixth, even seventh when other people are healthy. Everybody's healthy in that starting rotation. Like the Dodgers are in a very prime position. And as we've mentioned yesterday quickly, you know, we assume at this point, I assume,

he is going to be one of the six that is in that starting rotation with Gavin Stoneout. And of course, Blake'snell taking a little bit of a beat to open the season. And that's a good problem to have. It is a good problem to have. Another thing that I like about this club is it seems like they're very good about letting the past go. And that same thing can be said about Muky Betts. I want to talk about him just a little bit, guys, because we keep bringing up, you know, some of the struggles in 2025.

And I say we as a media collective, not just us on Dodgers territory. But Mookie certainly isn't worried about 2025. It kind of seems like he's put that behind him. Obviously, he was dealing with health issues last year, with that stomach bug and all of the things. But he's moving on, Katie. And what have you noticed from him? Obviously, Dave Roberts wanted him to get a later start in terms of spring action. But you wrote about it, refreshed, refocused, and ready for a rebound.

on Muky Betts' new approach, has him optimistic for a season where he expects his play to return to its MVP caliber form. Tell us more about what you talked to him about and what you wrote. Yeah, I think from an outsider perspective last year, covering the Cardinals, I obviously wasn't in tune with every single game the Dodgers played. And the narrative came out that Mooky Betts was struggling

and I was like, I can't be that bad. Come on, it's Mokey Betts. And then I kind of saw the numbers. I saw the OPS and I was like, oh, wait a second. This is like so far from the level of production. that this future Hall of Famer has come to expect from himself. And so I can come into the situation with an open mind and not really realizing because I wasn't there,

just how much of a mental toll it took on him until we started talking to him about it. And it was very clear that he was frustrated, that he was in a low place in 2025. And he has decided to switch it up. The less is more approach, where I think last year learning a new position, learning to play shortstop full time,

I think he took maybe, I don't know, a thousand ground balls a day, it felt like he said. And there was only so much you could do. So his mentality is now working smarter, not harder. And that means being careful about load management. That means coming in with a new refreshed mindset and slow playing his way into full games. I think Mookie has had to learn from really the first time he struggled offensively to this extent in his entire career.

And that can make or break a player. And at some point last year, he said, you know what? My season's over. My stats will not matter anymore. I am just trying to focus on helping the team win. And that's whether that's situational hitting, whether that's getting a guy from first to third, whether it's a deep fly ball that allows a runner to score.

Those are things that he was focused on doing. And I think that actually really helped him refocus into the postseason. Then of course, when you make the final outs of Game 7 in the World Series to win your second row, that also helps. So to talk to Mukki and see how convicted he is in this new approach, this is a guy who's, you know,

committed to being the best he could possibly be. It's probably a little bit unnerving to take a step. step back and kind of downplay your ramp up time and take a couple of extra rest days. But he seems to be in a really good place. And that was the most optimistic we've heard Mukie Betts sound this spring. I'm John Green. You may know me as the author of The Fault and Our Stars. And now, I guess also is the co-host of the away end, a brand new world soccer podcast. I'm Daniel Alarcon, a writer and journalist. And John and I have known each other since we were kids. My first World Cup was Mexico 86. I was nine years old. I watched every

game and I fell in love. On our new podcast, The Away End, we'll share with you the magic of international football, all leading up to the 2026 World Cup. For us, soccer, football, is a story we've shared for over 30 years, since Daniel was the star player on our high school soccer team. Very debatable. And I was their most loyal and sometimes only fan. I love this game.

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This is a badass convict. Right. Just finished five years. I'm going to have cookies and milk. mom. Yeah. On the senior show podcast, each episode invites you into a raw, unfiltered conversations about recovery, resilience, and redemption. On a recent episode, I sit down with actor, cultural icon Danny Trail to talk about addiction, transformation, and the power of second chances.

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Make it a preset and stay connected all day. Mookiee in a great spot. Dodgers is in a great spot. But Alana, you mentioned earlier. We're continuing our series looking at competition for the Los Angeles Dodgers. And there's nobody better to talk to about the New York metropolitans in this guy. You guys know him. You love them on the internet.

That's Mark Luino. If I had my buttons ready, I'd hit the applause button. But Mark, we appreciate you joining us here. Of course, you host the Mets.net. Podcast here on the Fowel Territory Network. And an interesting year, to say the least, for your Mets there. Obviously, Dodgers Mets face each other in the 2024 postseason. Things happened in 2025.

And then a lot of changes off season. Let's talk first about last year. What kind of happened with the Mets last year in an 83 and 79th season? Yeah, it's kind of crazy in a year where we bring in Wonsoto. that it was a nightmare, but I think that's kind of the only way to explain the 2025 season as a Met fan. The highs that we had in 2024 just weren't even remotely the same in 2025. I think there was a lot of change going on that was necessary. We saw it happen this offseason, but truthfully, like the guys just didn't step up when we needed them most last year.

Guys had great seasons, but ultimately the team didn't play well enough to make the postseason, and it hurts and it stinks. But I think that's why you saw this offseason so many massive change. changes across the board because I think you probably can't just keep trying the same thing over and over and over again and hoping for a different outcome. I think we kind of realized what this Mets team was and change was needed. So, giraffe neck mark, this is so funny. I was telling Clint,

I was like, I know everyone's names from Twitter. And it's not just how I'm going to refer to you always in my mind. I'm curious, as you look at the Mets, there's so much to be made about their offseason and they're, you know, I don't think you can go out and say the Mets didn't try.

But there are very questionable moves in terms of who they brought in, who they let go. What sticks out to you as the move that brought you the most question? I think it's always going to be Pete Alonzo. I mean, I know I kind of get burnt on the internet for how much I loved Pete and how much I wanted him back and even probably holding on to him a little bit too long and the hopes that he would be a met. But at the end of the day, I think that's probably the biggest one just because we went from a 40 home run first basement, one of the top five in the game, to now Jorge Polanco. and maybe trying out some other guys at the first base position where the priority of this offseason it seemed like for the Mets was to improve defense.

And at the first base position, we are putting someone now who is basically never played first base in his career. He's learning a new position. And he's not the same offensive player that P was. That being said, I kind of see now what the Mets were trying to do. And it does go back to the fact that, you know, Juan Soto-Franiscoll indoor. It's very much their team now. And I think it did create an interesting dynamic when you had a bunch of great players that were. on this team prior to them.

And not that there was an issue, but I think just building on the fact of this team hasn't worked, this setup hasn't worked, we need to try something different. I also think it's very hard for Mets fans and myself included, just accept the fact that Pete Alonzo will not be a forever met. It felt like he was going to be. And at least he went to Baltimore where he won't hurt us too much and hopefully can root for him playing against the Yankees and some of those other teams. But that's the one that will always make me scratch my head just because it felt like

it was such a good fit from both sides. But ultimately, the Mets wanted to move on and just something I'm going to have to accept. Yeah, a homegrown player. It is so weird, Mark, to see him in an O's uniform. But there's another guy there that is the face of the franchise, at least if you're talking about the checkbook. And that's Juan Soto. And he said the other day that, you know, he's coming. He's coming for Shohei Otani's MVP in the National League.

I love the confidence. But I don't know that that's going to happen anytime soon. What does Juan Soto, forget the MVP, what does Juan Soto need to do to be that guy for the Mets? Honestly, not much different. Like last year was a phenomenal year. He put up the power. He stole more bases. I guess for him to become a more complete player, which sounds like an insane sentence to say,

because at least from my perspective and Mets up, we will never complain about Wonsoto's play. He was phenomenal last year. But there's room for improvement defensively. And I don't particularly care if he continues to play the quality of defense. he has over the last few years. If he hits like he has, that to me is not an issue. But if there is somewhere where he can improve, it's defense. And he's moving to left field this year because he's playing that in the WBC. You mentioned the comments that he made about he's coming for show. Hey, if he really does want to have a chance at competing for the MVP and being that top, top player

in the National League and in baseball, it's going to come on the defensive side. If he can be even a league average outfield or in left field, it will do huge impact for his value on the season. That being said, again, I don't care. Juan Soto can hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases and put up a 950 OPS and I will be happy as can be. I just want Juan Soto to stay healthy, keep doing what he's doing and, you know, become a leader on this team. Yeah, Juan Soto, obviously, the signing of the offseason, last off season, he joins a very good club. And again, a reminder, this is why we're talking to Mark right now, because the Mets are among the biggest competition for the Dodgers. So we want to know what makes some tick. We want to know what can be, you know, kind of exploited and help the Dodgers take

him down and all that kind of stuff. And it seems like, you know, you mentioned Soto, another guy who's there, Francisco Lindor. They might have had a little bit of beef, maybe not New York Rat versus pizza or whatever that whole thing was a couple of years ago. But what do you make of the kind of relationship between those two, what was made of it in media? And, you know, is that a point of concern for you in Soto's second year with the club? Not a point of concern for me. I think it got overblown. Ultimately, at the end of the day, I think if the team wins, everyone's happy.

And the team didn't win last year. So I think any sort of problems in big air quotes would have been magnified by the fact that the team just wasn't playing well. They weren't successful. They missed out on their absolute minimum goal, which was make the playoff. So I think from that perspective, everybody was a little bit on edge. Do I think these guys are best friends? Absolutely not. I think that would be pretty foolish.

If anybody around baseball, I think that these guys are attached to the hip. but I also don't think they have to be. I think clubhouses have different vibes. Players have different vibes. These guys are in different points in their careers and in their personal lives as well. Like Francisco Indoor is a big family man. Juan Soto's 27 years old, just got paid $700 million for the rest of his life. I'd expect that these guys are going to have different outlooks and different perspectives.

I don't need them to be best friends. I just need them to get along and ultimately be on the same page that they will do whatever it takes to make this team successful and win. And ultimately, it's New York media. if there's just even a slight cookie crumb that these guys can attach to, they're going to run with it. It's going to get clicks. And we saw this offseason, those articles, those headlines, everybody was reading them. You couldn't stay away. That is true.

As a fellow media member, even I was like, I need to see what's going on with the Mets. It seems like a disaster. I will, I'll preface this with when the Mets went out and signed Devin Williams, it was pretty clear at the time that they also intended to bring Edwin Diaz back. And then you see the reported offer they had on the table. Obviously, Edmund Diaz did not go back to Queens. He is now a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers. How big of a hit for the Mets was that losing Diaz, especially when they had originally planned to have him back all along?

Yeah, I think it was a bigger hit than probably most people expected. I still think Devin Williams is going to be good. I mean, if you take away that Yankee season last year, he was coming into the year as one of the five best relievers in baseball. And I definitely think there's a world where he goes back to that. but I do think there is a significant drop-off. Edwin Diaz, to me, if he's not the best reliever in baseball, he's number two. He's unbelievable.

He shuts down games. The stuff is electric, swing and miss, out of control. I wanted him back, but it seemed like maybe the Dodgers were just the team that he always wanted to go with in the end, especially when we saw the difference in money. I know there was a conversation about that Edwin Diaz possibly felt a little bit slighted when the Mets brought in Devin Williams without consulting him, but technically Edwin was a free agent at the time, so they didn't have to. overall, like, it sucks because I love Deadwin on this team.

There's been up and downs with his career as a met, but ultimately at the end of it, I thought he was amazing and was great and wanted him back. When he gets to City Field this year, I'll give him a standing ovation as soon as he gets announced. And then once he's back on the mound, it's going to be absolute chaos. People are going to be going after him.

And I really do hope he blows a game or two. But the Dodgers got a good one. He's awesome. And I wish we had him and Devin Williams in the bullpen together. But obviously that's not the case. That would be one heck of a back. end of a bullpen mark. I'll ask you this. Obviously, you're a Mets fan. Obviously, we're Dodgers fans. I mean, not Katie, obviously, because she's a writer. She's non-biased, but Clint and I are

homers, so here we go. The Dodgers spend a lot of money, and that's okay. And of course, they have the narrative that they're ruining baseball. But the Mets, my friend, they also spend a lot of money. So I'm interested in your opinion about what the Mets and the Dodgers are doing and that narrative that honestly is kind of lazy at this point. Yeah, I think it's super lazy. I understand why people have it. And it really is, like, it's an easy take to have, right? If you're a fan of the Guardians or the Pirates or any of these small market teams and you see the Dodgers and the Mets going out and spending, essentially however much money that they want to spend, it can be frustrating. But that really is on the ownership's fault. And I don't think it's on the fault of how the game

of baseball is played and operates. It's just unfortunate that we do have teams and organizations that, I get it. It's a business at the end of the day. You want to make profits and revenue, but that's their number one goal as opposed to winning and being the best team possible. For me, as a Mets fan, it really scares me the fact that they're going to be a lockout most likely this offseason. And that salary cap's going to be discussed because I had the will ponds forever. We finally get Steve Cohen in. We get all this money. And they might take it away from us.

I'm all for spending. I'm all for players getting their bag. I want to see these guys make as much money for as long as physically possible. And I want to see these teams spend as much money as they can to put out a good team. Even the pirates making some small moves this off season, they spent a little bit more money. It's really cool to just see that excitement. for these smaller markets. So while the Dodgers and the Mets and the Yankees and all these teams spending is, I guess, scary for some of these smaller market teams and they feel

like they can't compete, there is ways where these rosters can get better and their owners are choosing not to and using the Dodgers and the Mets as kind of a facade as to why they can't do that. I'm not ready and willing to accept the lockout just yet. I want to play 2026. I want to see the Dodgers win another title, and that's the goal. I know you agree less with that part. there. We've kind of set the stage a little bit, obviously, again, the struggles for the Mets last year. Another season of sort of public infighting in a way is Carlos Mendoza the right voice for the squad. And I'll say, I love Mendy. That is a guy who is a dude, but does he have

enough, you know, pull in that clubhouse to keep all of those stars in check? Yeah, I think sometimes we probably overreact to what managers are doing on a year-to-year basis. And I think you guys saw it with the Dodgers earlier with Dave Roberts, where a lot of times those teams should have been good, should have been successful, and they came up a little bit short. But now the patience has paid off. And Dave Roberts, in my opinion,

is one of the best managers in baseball. I think with Mendoza, he's still kind of getting his C legs a little bit. I think he hasn't been dealt the easiest hand where the 2024 team overperformed. So everybody was super excited about Mendoza, high expectations going into 2025. They sign Juan Soto. The expectations are even higher. They should be even better.

And they underperformed. I really do think right now, like if we were doing like a grading tierless, I think you got to put them right in the middle. And let's see what happens in 2026. It's a big year for him, not just as a manager, but this team needs to perform. And ultimately, they're not going to fire the players. They're not going to get rid of those guys.

It's the ax will fall on him if they don't have a successful season. But I think there is a huge advantage to the fact that he is a bilingual manager. He can speak Spanish to the players. the Mets have a lot of Latin players on their roster. So I think there's an advantage. I think he is a good manager. I do think at times he is still learning on the fly, which is always scary. And you never really want to hear that for a team that's trying to win right now.

But I trust in Carlos Mendoza, what I saw in 2024 made me excited. I'm just hoping that 2026, we can get back to that, Carlos. So as a former and Al central girly poor one out, I saw a lot of Freddie Peralta over the years. And I could not think that the Mets could have gotten a better fit in terms of who they acquired. And I know there's been some talk about some possible long-term extension. But when you look at the rotation in New York throughout, obviously, love for Alta, Nolan McLean is going to be a stud. There are some certifiable question marks coming after then.

There's, you know, Manaya, Kodaisanga, who knows what Jonah Tong is going to be. There's a lot of upside in this rotation. But do you think the Mets have enough consistency from their starters right now? Yeah, that's the scary part is what is the consistency? Because like you said, Katie, Freddie Peralta, Nolan McLean, phenomenal. Well, we're going to count on them easy. David Peterson was fantastic until about the last 40 innings of the season last year. He went from a sub three R a plus four, which is kind of insane to think about.

I think a lot of these guys do have question marks. I think around the league is probably sleeping on the Mets rotation a little more than they should, but it's understandable. To me, like Peterson Holmes, I'm pretty confident in those guys being in this rotation all year long and being solid. It really does come down to Sean and I and Kodai saying it, two guys who weren't very good last year. I know Kodi had the hot first half before the injury, but his command wasn't good. The stuff wasn't as good. Kind of felt like he was getting a little bit lucky and then the weird stuff that happened at the end of the year,

I think is very concerning for a lot of Mets fans. I just want to see Kodi play loose. It feels like he's very tight. And when he's at his best is when he's really feeling himself and I just haven't seen that confidence from him in a long time. And then with Shawmaniah dealing with the elbow injury a little bit last year, missing half the year, missing spring training. It clearly played an impact on how deep he could go into games. If you look at the first three, four innings of Shawmaniah, he was fantastic.

It was just when they tried to push him to that fifth inning, he had issues. So truthfully, I just, I'm hoping for a healthy season from these pitchers. Luckily, the Mets have a ton of rotation depth. Again, still question marks. They're not guaranteed hits by any means. But they have like seven, eight starters that could be at the major league level and make an impact. We really need someone to step up, though. We need a number three right now to shine and be that guy.

I think it could be Peterson. I think it could be Clay Holmes. I hope it could be Manair or a Kodi. But like you said, the consistency is the question mark. And myself as a Mets fan, yeah, my stomach's and knots thinking about what this rotation could look like even on May 1st. Well, you want Kodi Sanga to loosen up. We want Roki Sasaki to loosen up, Mark. Last question for us here.

How do the Mets best impact the Dodgers to get over the hump and knock them out? I mean, ultimately, I say this all the time. I want to play the Dodgers in the shorter series than I do along. I want to make that series as shortest possible. We'll get our, fluke our way to beating them. The Dodgers are clearly better than the Mets as it stands right now, and the Dodgers are clearly the best team in baseball. But in order for the Mets to even have a shot,

they're just going to need some of these acquisitions that they brought in this year to continue to stay strong. Louise Rober being one of the biggest ones where if we can get a healthy version of him and he can play to his fullest potential, it does change how this team feels. And if we get some healthy starting pitching towards the back end of it, we can put up a fight. Again, I expect the Dodgers to beat the Mets. the Dodgers are better than the Mets.

But we know this is baseball. We know that this can go any which way in a playoff series. So just get us there. That's really all I hope for. And then maybe the luck goes in our direction this time because it's going to take a lot to beat this Dodgers team. You guys are so good. Wholesale changes over there in New York. Very interested, just as a baseball fan, interested in seeing how that all shakes out.

A few guys, Dodgers fans here, but if you guys want to see how things turn out with the Mets, make sure you watch Mark alongside. James Shiano on Metz Up. We've had James on the show as well. Dude knows his shit. Mark knows his shit. You guys are going to have a lot of fun watching that. Mark, best of luck to you guys' season.

Not all the luck in the world, of course, but an amount of luck is what we hope. We appreciate you joining us, man. Thank you, guys. Hope we see you in the NLCS. Hey, that's the long series, right there. That is Mark Luino. Give him a follow.

Of course, also follow stuff. Draft Neck, Mark. Does fantastic work on the internet. But, gang, I think it's, about time, we go ahead and get to Last Licks. I'm John Green. You may know me as the author of The Fault and Our Stars, and now I guess also as the co-host of The Away End, a brand new world soccer podcast. I'm Daniel Alarcon, a writer and journalist, and John and I have known each other since we

were kids. My first World Cup was Mexico 86. I was nine years old. I watched every game and I fell in love. On our new podcast, The Away End, we'll share with you the magic of international football, all leading up to the 2026 World Cup. For us, soccer, Football is a story we've shared for over 30 years since Daniel was the star player on our high school soccer team. Very debatable. And I was their most loyal and sometimes only fan. I love this game. I love its history, its hope, its heartbreak, and above all, it's beauty.

Together, we'll find out why, of all the unimportant things, football, soccer, is the most important. Listen to the away end with Daniel Auerkone and John Green on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. I went and sat on the little ottoman in front of him. I said, hi, dad. And just when I said that, my mom comes out of the kitchen. She says, I have some cookies and milk. This is a badass convict.

Right. Just finished five years. I'm going to have cookies and milk at my mom. On the Ceno Show podcast, each episode invites you into a raw, unfiltered conversations about recovery, resilience, and redemption. On a recent episode, I sit down with actor, cultural icon Danny Trail, talk about addiction, transformation,

and the power of second chances. The entire season two is now available to bench, featuring powerful conversations with the guests like Tiffany Addish, Johnny Knoxville, and more. I'm an alcoholic. And without this trouble, I'm going to die. Open your free I-Heart radio app. Search the CETO show,

and listen now. I heart and TikTok have come together to create something new. I love it. Where the world of TikTok meets your playlist. Three words that will change your life. IHeart TikTok Radio. The biggest hits across Iheart Radio. What's trending for you on TikTok?

Tell me a sound that's better than this. I heart TikTok's most influential creators all in one place. Search for IHeart TikTok Radio. Make it a preset and stay connected all day. All right, guys, spread the word. Daffodil needs an adopter. She is a beautiful, smaller golden retriever. She is about 10 years old, so she's a senior lady, but she still has a lot of life to live,

a lot of love to give. She is currently being fostered in Norco, California, but we're looking for a long time adopter for her to give her the best of the rest. Again, she still has many years to go. She is on some liver medication and some heart medication, but that is taken care of for the rest of her life through my foundation, Gidreys Guardian. if you're interested in learning more about daffodil, please hit us up, gidreysguardian.org. Do it. Katie needs a dog. We still, we still decide.

Katie does. We're working on that. I saw Katie Hornbacher of being home on the Strand in the South Bay. So she's she's she's fitting in quite nicely in her new digs. All right. So thought for the road, you guys. Katie, you saw that Kyle Tucker left the clubhouse, obviously. You're there. because he and his wife are having a baby, and he's not the only one. A whole bunch of them. No. Lots of Dodger babies this spring. But yes, congratulations to Kyle Tucker, Dave Roberts told reporters today at Campbellback

Ranch that Kyle Tucker is a daddy. So that was a quote. And that's very exciting for the target family, obviously. I read that because I get the quote sent to me, and I was like, oh, okay, cool. But yes, yes, the latest dog. to welcome a child joining Kika Hernandez, Max Muncie, Mookie, Betts expecting, Freddie Freeman expecting just lots of babies, lots to love, lots of World Series. Everything's great in Dodger Land.

Dodger Babies is Dodger Daycare, Riz? And you asked the AI, which some people are going to be pissed about, it's AI, whatever. It's a tool. It's what's what's around. And this is what AI decided Dodger Daycare looks like. Okay. So I really tried to do, I had about 20 minutes to create this, right? So I kept trying to like do this to where it made sense.

I didn't want any babies to have a gender other than Kike's because we know that Kike and Mariana just had a boy, but I don't know what Kyle Tucker had. Freddie Freeman hasn't, they haven't had their baby yet. Chelsea, you know, the family hasn't had the baby. And Brianna hasn't had the Betts' child. So I was like, don't make them gender. And then I was like, well, can you make the Betts baby look like Muky and Brianna? And chat GPT basically called me racist.

I'm like, no, they're an African-American beautiful couple. their child should kind of look like them. But anyway, the Dodgers just had quadruplets. They all look exactly the same. So congratulations for the Dodger Daycare. I tried. I tried. There's the dangers of AI, you guys.

The dangers of AI. This is the danger. Let this be a PSA about chat GPT that you can try to be funny, but sometimes it just doesn't work out. We should have started and stopped with Will Smith eating spaghetti. That's simple. It's that simple. If you guys want to help support Alana's AI habit, go to the Dodgers Territory Shop. Dotterrotshop.com.

Get yourself a hoodie, a sweater, more so, a T-shirt, a baseball cap, all that kind of stuff. Tis the season. The regular season is coming up in just, what, under three weeks now? Under three weeks, yeah, 20 days. That is lovely. That is wonderful. And the best way to do that and support us, scanning that QR code, click. in the link in the description, all of that kind of stuff.

Yeah, that's it. That's all I got. Subscribe to the show as well. All right, guys. Have a great weekend. Yes, don't forget to subscribe, trying to get to 20,000 subs. Don't forget to subscribe. Have a great weekend, everybody.

The three of us will be back on Monday. See you then. Bye. I'm Daniel Alarcon, and this is my friend. It's much more famous than I am. I wouldn't go that far. But I'm John Green, co-hosted the podcast The Away End, with my old friend Daniel on our podcast, The Away End.

We'll share with you the magic of international football. all leading up to the 2026 World Cup. Together, we'll find out why, of all the unimportant things, football, soccer, is the most important. Listen to the away end with Daniel Alarcon and John Green on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Then she says, have you seen a photo of my son? And I'm like, who is this person? Welcome to the Boys and Girls podcast.

Arranged Marriage is basically a reality show and you're auditioning for your soulmate. And who's judging? Only your entire family? I sacrificed myself to this ancient tradition, hoping to find love the right way. And instead, I found chaos, comedy, and a lot of cringe. Listen to boys and girls on the I-heart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

On the Ceno Show podcast, each episode invites you into a raw, unfiltered conversations about recovery, resilience, and redemption. On a recent episode, I sit down with actor, cultural icon, Danny Trail, talk about addiction, transformation and the power of second chances. The entire season two is now available to Bench, featuring powerful conversation with the guests like Tiffany Addish, Johnny Knoxville, and more.

I'm an alcoholic. And without this probe, I'm going to die. Listen to the Ceno show on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.