This Week in Mets Quotes: Big Sexy retires as a Met, says Mets fans accepted and supported him the most in his career

Your 2023 New York Mets: I just kind of felt a little embarrassed.

“I just kind of felt a little embarrassed, you know? No one’s there and you throw it away.” -Joey Lucchesi [MLB]

Even though Mauricio favorite position is...

“Shortstop.” -Ronny Mauricio [MLB]

...and second favorite...

“Third base.” -Ronny Mauricio [MLB]

...his preference is whatever helps the team and keeps him in big leagues.

“It helped me evolve as a player to be able to go out there and play a different position. I don’t think much about that. I just continue to go out there, try to work hard, and continue to try to help the team win games as much as possible. As long as I’m able to do that, whatever opportunity and whatever the team decides, I’ll be happy to do.” -Ronny Mauricio [MLB]

Megill on his thoughts why his last start was tough...

“A lot of hits. A lot of pressure early. My stuff wasn’t terrible today. I felt like I executed a lot of two strikes — off-speed. Not a lot of chase. They were trying to get me in the strike zone. Obviously, they did. It was grinding, keeping the team in it, not letting it snowball.” -Tylor Megill [MLB]

...while his opponents had a simpler reason.

“[Megill] kept going to the fastball in the same spot. I just happened [to not] miss that one.” Christian Encarnacion-Strand [MLB]

By ‘rival any club in New York’, Deline is obviously referring to the Buffalo Bills.

“We have one of the best ballparks in the world, but we just need to tweak some of the amenities around it. So right now, the Clover Club is now 2,900 square feet. It will be almost 10,000 [square feet], so it will triple in size. … I think it will rival any club in New York. It should be as good as or better than anything that is built today.” -Jeff Deline, executive vice president and chief revenue officer [MLB]

While the Clover Club is certainly for a certain type of fan; got to tip my hat to the Mets that the addition of the Amazin’ Deli was cool addition for the average fan.

“I’ve been in sports for 27 years. Every decision that we make [at Citi Field] — whether it be the Clover Club or concessions — it’s always the fans first in mind. Look, the baseball game will always be there. People will watch and tune in. But as we try to attract new fans to the game, they need more to do. They want to tour around the stadium in the two to three hours at the game. They want to go to different areas that we continue to build and reimagine. It’s more of an adventure and a day out. It’s not always about baseball. It’s got to be an outing.” -Jeff Deline, executive vice president and chief revenue officer [MLB]

So cool that Bart felt this way about his time as a Met.

“I’m grateful for the Cleveland organization, because they are the ones that gave me the opportunity and the start of my career. If it was up to my parents and the rest of my family, they probably wanted me to retire in Cleveland. [The New York fan base] accepted and supported me the most. That’s why I felt really comfortable here.” -Bartolo Colon [MLB]

Bartolo originally thought the ‘Big Sexy’ nickname was making fun of him being fat.

“Syndergaard said that is a good thing. So, yeah, the nickname stuck, and I ended up liking it.” -Bartolo Colon [MLB]

Oof.../through gritted teeth/...thank you Greg Maddux.

“[Maddux] told me I should be throwing two-seamers more often. At the time, I didn’t like throwing two-seamers… As I grew as a pitcher, I started to implement the command over the velocity. That’s what helped me when I was [with the Mets].” -Bartolo Colon [MLB]

The early-mid 10s were some rough years for being a Mets fan, but it was an absolute pleasure to get to watch Dickey and Colon uniquely dominating batters in a way we might get to root for again.

“He could go through a lineup three times with one pitch and have four different [angles], because he sunk it here and he sunk it there and he sunk it down there. Nothing was ever in the middle of the plate. For me, what he did in the clubhouse was show all of the other pitchers you don’t have to throw 100 to be successful. It’s command your fastball, and that was the art that he did.” -Terry Collins [MLB]

It’s too bad for Quintana’s injury because his bright spot has been lost on Mets fans who understandably checked out on the Mets before he made his Mets debut.

“At the end of the day, the key was to attack the zone early and put the hitters away with less than three or four pitches.” -Jose Quintana [MLB]

“I get pretty good support from my teammates. It’s a special win for me after getting 300 starts in the big leagues. It means a lot to start 300 games. It means [I’ve stayed] healthy. It’s a special number. … I always try to do the best that I can. It’s really an emotional time, and a special moment for me.” -Jose Quintana [MLB]

I really don’t understand why the Mets continued to act like Diaz would pitch this season but; hopefully, there were lessons learned from Syndergaard coming back but only allowed to throw fastballs or, way back, Reyes not hitting the DL but only being allowed to bat from one side of the plate.

“It’s too risky. I’m not as concerned about the pitching. It’s more about fielding and a ball getting hit back at him and he has to get out of the way, and really it’s about covering first base and covering a bunt. I have very little concern about him pitching at the moment.” -Jeremy Hefner [MLB]

“If we were in a different situation as a team, we definitely could have pushed to the point where he’d probably be pitching in games right now. Obviously you saw with our team this year, he’s an integral part. We can’t do anything to risk next year by reinjuring an already unprecedented injury. That’s where we’re at right now.” -Jeremy Hefner [MLB]

A protected pick would be nice from a long term stand point but, as this current roster will not be much different from next year’s roster, the Mets being able to improve their run differential to -14 is a somewhat promising sign for next year.

“This is a good ballclub over there, and they’re right in the playoff race. We’ve got to show up every single day, play good baseball no matter who we’re playing. But when you’ve got a team competing for a Wild Card spot, you want to play well and you want to win those games.” -Jeff McNeil [MLB]

Bill Ladson of MLB had a nice Q&A with grizzled, veteran Brandon Nimmo.

“It’s been a long time coming. It’s been a lot of hard work that has been put in every year to try and become a little bit better, a little more efficient. I feel this offseason, I was able to kind of complete a long work in progress. … It was a big milestone for me to break my personal best [17 homers in 2018] and to also get to the 20 home run mark. It’s a nice round number that people would like to get to. Even to surpass that is such a blessing. A lot of hard work has gone into it — not only me, but a lot of hitting coaches along the way, especially Jeremy Barnes finishing it off here.” -Brandon Nimmo [MLB]

“I think something I can improve on … is stealing bags and doing it in a more efficient manner. This year, I’m 3-for-6. It’s not very good. Maybe I should do a little more homework in that [area] and figure out why I am not having the success. Where are we lacking? How can I help the team a little bit more in that area? I don’t want to do it to a detriment. Part of it for me before was wanting to stay healthy and that is still first and foremost the biggest thing for me. But if I can add a little bit more, then I should. I owe it to my teammates and the club to try and fully exercise all of my abilities.” -Brandon Nimmo [MLB]