This Week in Mets Quotes: Love the Baby Mets? Love the Baby Mets.

Your 2023 New York Mets: We’re [getting] close.

“We’re starting to get close to where we want to be.” -Starling Marte [MLB]

The two aces pitching back-to-back in a doubleheader went as well as could be hoped for during the offseason.

“[Verlander] and Max are perfectionists. They are who they are because they’re perfectionists and they work on their craft day in and day out. They don’t back down from any challenge. The four days they’re not pitching, they spend trying to figure out how to be better.” -Francisco Lindor [MLB]

“I figured I would like to attack the zone and see where it took me. It worked out pretty well.” -Justin Verlander [MLB]

From Max’ lips to Dickey’s ears.

“[Marte’s] been scuffling at the plate — everybody knows it. But at one point in time, he’s going to break out of it. He’s too good of a player not to.” -Max Scherzer [MLB]

The Mets would drop the next two against the Cubs...

“That’s the stuff that gets you going.” -Max Scherzer [MLB]

“It’s never quite good enough until you’re the last team standing, and that’s what these guys are trying to give themselves a chance to do. Games like this, and series against good clubs certainly don’t hurt that.” -Buck Showalter [MLB]

...but a lopsided win to close the series has the team thinking ‘we’s so back’.

“Everything’s coming together.” -Carlos Carrasco [MLB]

“It’s just a reminder of what we’re capable of and what we need to do,” -Buck Showalter [MLB]

“That’s when we’re at our best — we’re taking good ABs, we’re getting on base, we’re putting pressure on the defense. It leads to some runs.” -Jeff McNeil [MLB]

Having Good Cookie would be a boon for this team.

“When I have that kind of changeup, I don’t want to stop throwing it. I can get a lot of ground balls.” -Carlos Carrasco [MLB]

Alonso on being on pace to hit 60 HRs...

“I just feel like I’m in a really good spot. I’m in control of my at-bats, and really just understanding what I can and can’t handle.” -Pete Alonso [MLB]

...while Buck doesn’t want to talk about it.

“You try not to talk too much about it. [Alonso’s] making a lot of loud collisions. And he’s been pretty consistent. He’s had very few [dry] stretches. That’s hard to do.” -Buck Showalter [MLB]

Love the Baby Mets? Love the Baby Mets.

“The [lasagna] family recipe, which Alvarez says is more Venezuelan than Italian, includes noodles, ground beef, ham, cheese and a white sauce. When Baty received the invitation, he initially laughed.” [MLB]

“I was like, ‘I’m going to watch you cook it, because you’re going to go buy it from the store and then tell me you made it but he made it. It was good!” -Brett Baty [MLB]

“They’re my family. We’ve been playing together for a long time. Just having them around, it brings me a lot of joy. I hope that I can be around them for the rest of my career.” -Francisco Alvarez [MLB]

“We give each other confidence. We see each other doing it.” -Mark Vientos [MLB]

“It’s just a different type of bond, because we’ve been together so long.” -Brett Baty [MLB]

Stroman was coy if he considered this a big game against his former team (though did retweet a petty tweet reverencing the Mets after the game).

“Younger me may have seen it as a revenge game but now, I know how to pitch. I’m really good at what I do. And it’s just a matter of getting to the point [I’m at] mechanically, and just rolling start after start.” -Marcus Stroman [MLB]

Lindor was a bit more candid about facing his former team.

“It’s emotional to do it against anybody but yeah, I wanted to win that game. One hundred percent, I wanted to win the game in that situation there. And I wanted it to be me.” -Francisco Lindor [MLB]