Mets confident they have a cha...

PORT ST. LUCIE, FLORIDA – Steve Cohen, owner of the New York Mets, scanned the reporters who were risking sunburn to hear what he had to say."Was I meant to write a speech?" he wondered. "What do you want?"

A guy worth more than $17 billion should be cautious about asking such questions (a townhouse in Brooklyn, if you're serious, Steve), but if there's a takeaway from the Mets' recent season, it's that there are certain things money can't buy.

Forget about that for a moment, and it feels like we were just here: a little north of Miami along Florida's Atlantic coast, in a metropolis with enormous retail malls and chain eateries and closeness to wealthy golf courses, questioning the Mets about the payroll-to-hope ratio.

A year earlier, the media flocked to Mets camp because Cohen had splurged on Max Scherzer, Starling Marte, and Mark Canha (among others), constructing a monster with expectations so lofty that ring fittings were scheduled alongside in-season physicals.

Scherzer threw a bullpen session with his new co-ace, reigning AL Cy Young award winner Justin Verlander, on one of the first official days of camp. Verlander was signed by the Mets after deGrom left in free agency. They were both pitching to new catchers, Scherzer to freshly acquired Omar Narváez and Verlander to Tomás Nido. Both veterans — who have 32 years of big-league experience, 445 wins, and 5,845 innings pitched — criticized their catchers' glove placement with forceful glove pops and the odd strong obscenity.

Afterwards, Scherzer stated that catchers must give a consistent target in the strike zone, which has been deemphasized in recent years in favor of pitch framing. Yet he feels obligated to address it since "the young pitchers can't say anything."

He emphasized on Monday that this is only the first stage of developing a competitive company that will last. Maybe as a concession to his other owners, who have allegedly objected to his excessive spending, he stated that a better farm system will eventually allow him to bear a smaller payroll; this is only the "bridge" to get there. Yet, his desire to invest currently distinguishes him in the sector.

"I made a commitment to the fans, and it wasn't a quick one," Cohen explained. "I don't do anything half-heartedly. I'm all in when I'm in. I don't do well with mediocrity. I have particularly high expectations, and if it means investing in this club, I'll do it."

The Mets' enormous gravitational pull has altered the landscape of the sport in only two seasons. It's difficult to talk about their aspirations in anything other than World Series titles, which means spring training is only the beginning of many months of assessing whether they're getting closer or further away from that ominous not-quite destiny. Those on the outside, at any rate.

"The culture is already here," says the insider. And the culture is here to stay, according to Lindor. "They are my brothers," I say. We're going to compete, we're going to work hard, and we're going to strive to win. When we don't win, we come back the next day and try again. It's rather straightforward."