Listeners can call into the show with questions by dialing (347) 215-8253.

To listen live, click here, or use the audio player in this site’s left-hand column.

By the way, tonight, at 6:30 pm, and again at 11 pm, SNY will air The Mets Hot Stove Report hosted by Kevin Burkhardt and featuring Darling, as well as guests David Wright and Jeff Wilpon.

Meanwhile, today, at 3 pm EDT, Darling will be a guest on The MetsBlog Podcast, during which we’ll discuss his off-season vision for the Mets, his thoughts on Willie Randolph and Jose Reyes, and how today’s Hot Stove compares to when he played.

During the 13–minute interview on The MetsBlog Podcast, which will air later today, Darling had the following to say, among other things, regarding…

…whether or not free agency, and players swapping from team to team, has altered the level of competition in baseball…

I will say this, the players are as tough, if not tougher, than when we played, but because of this changing around they’ve made the game less tough.
 
I think the players are bigger and stronger and they’re tough as nails, but what happens is, when you have, before the game, every one is giving that uncomfortable man hug – and I’m trying to rid the world of man hugs, by the way, one hug at a time – that hug that they all share, you know, it’s symbolic of this, it’s symbolic that every one knows each other and that’s great, it’s a nice fraternity, and they’re all making a lot of money, and that’s a great thing, but I think the toughness…that toughness is gone forever – and we can argue all day whether that’s a good thing, but is gone.

…the potential disconnect between an old-school guy like Willie Randolph, and young players from this modern ‘man-hug era.’…

Yeah, that’s a really good question.  I’ll say this, never have I met anyone classier than Willie Randolph…It’s not an old-school guy talking, it’s just that, the most important thing, I think, a baseball player, manager, coach, whatever, is you don’t assume anything…make sure you explain it, and I think that’s maybe where Willie came up a little short.   Willie was one of the classiest and one of the toughest guys to play the guy, and I think he assumes that sometimes these guys know how to play the game right, and sometimes that doesn’t always happen.
 
This winter, I’m sure he’s giving a lot of thought about that first conversation he’ll have in spring training…that is going to be one of the great rallying cries, because he’s not ever going to assume anything again, and I’m sure he’ll make sure all of his players know that baseball is a weird game and there’s only way to play it, and that’s the right way.  What is that?  Well, that’s on each manager and each manager defines that and I’m sure Willie will define that.

…the late-season struggles of Jose Reyes…

This is totally my opinion, and has nothing to do with fact, but the one thing I would look at is that Rick Down was let go at the break…he and Reyes seemed to hit it off…He and Jose had, whatever that is, they were able to connect and work.
 
Another thing is, I think at one point the manager got angry at him and rightfully so and he’s a young man.  A lot of times, what happens to young people is, when they’re called on the carpet, is that there is a moping point of time…
 
Lastly, I think, and I’ll probably have this argument with the powers that be in Spring Training, but, I don’t ever envision him stealing more than 50 or 60 bases, I think that’s a max for him.  I say that, because I played with Rickey Henderson, who could steal more than that, but Rickey had a different body – he was built like a full back and he could take the pounding…Just piling up stolen bases, for Jose, I would not want to see that.  He is only gonna get stronger, and I’d like to see him ease that burden of stealing, not increase it…Those 10 to15 extra bases are gonna wear on a guy who’s not built like Henderson is, like a full back.

Don’t forget, tonight, at 6:30 pm, and again at 11 pm, SNY will air The Mets Hot Stove Report hosted by Kevin Burkhardt, featuring Darling, as well as David Wright and Jeff Wilpon.

To listen to his 14–minute interview, click here, or use the play button in the audio player located in this site’s left-hand column.

The following is a rushed transcript of the discussion…

Matthew Cerrone…

The David Wright Foundation will be holding their 3rd Annual Do the Right Thing Gala in New York City on Thursday, November 15 – and as such, I am happy to welcome in David Wright to The MetsBlog Podcast.

To learn more about the Gala, click here.

David what is going on buddy, how you doing?

David Wright…

Doing OK, a little bitter taste in my mouth after watching the playoffs but started to refocus, regroup and getting into the workout program.

Matthew Cerrone…

If you could take a second and maybe tell my readers what they can expect if they buy tickets to the gala. Also a little bit why you initially started the foundation, you guys do great work there.

David Wright…

We do tremendous work, it’s growing expedientially, and the foundation is just getting to that elite level where we are able to help out many great causes. I started the foundation a couple of years realizing that being a young player in New York there are a lot of kids and a lot peers that look up to you. By wearing that jersey, by being a New York Met, the community rallies around their own and that by using the Mets and the name on the back of my jersey that I could do good things in the community.

Matthew Cerrone…

That’s great and if my readers are interested in buying tickets to the Gala, they can click here.

David Wright…

It’s going to be a good event, we have Joel and Benji Madden from “Good Charlotte” doing the music set. We just have a great time for a great cause, it’s very casual. You go there and have a good time; it’s not stuffy at all. Like I said there is going to be plenty of celebrities.

Matthew Cerrone…

It’s not stuffy but you guys do the little cat walk thing at the start where everybody’s taking pictures, which has got to be strange, right?

David Wright…

Right, right, we will have some celebrities so we pull out the red carpet out. Even though it is casual we have everybody walk the red carpet to set the mood, I guess.

Matthew Cerrone…

Is that still kind of weird for you? I mean it’s got to be a little strange, now all the cameras and, I mean, It’s one thing when you are in your baseball environment, but in that setting does that kind of take you back a little bit? Are still you like “Wow this is kind of cool,” or have you adjusted to that stuff yet?

David Wright…

Yeah, I don’t know why anybody would want a picture of me without a baseball uniform, but you know its fun for me. I’ve got a chance to meet some great, some big time Hollywood celebrities, so it gives me a chance to mingle with that and get out of my element a little bit, it’s always fun.

Matthew Cerrone…

It’s interesting because at the same time, you guys are young men, you are living in this big city, you’re making good money and you are guys… So it gets people…I see fans are always interested. I think on the one hand they want you to be a clean cut professional, and on the other hand, I think we all realize that if we were in the same position we would want to hang and enjoy some of the success. Do you find it difficult to juggle between being this popular wealthy young guy in the city and then also staying focused and productive on the field? How do you deal with that?

David Wright…

Oh yeah, first and foremost I’m a baseball player and I receive these perks and I am where I am today because of baseball, and I would never lose site of that. As soon as I start slipping, as soon as we stop putting a winning product out there, on the field, then all these perks go away, so I always put baseball obviously before everything else. I’m 24 years old and I like to go out and do what a normal and typical 24 year old does, but I make sure that my number one focus is baseball. I would never do anything away from the field that hurts what I do on the field.

Matthew Cerrone…

That’s you, and obviously I’m not asking for specific people or anything, but do you ever get the sense… I mean you are hanging out with other guys, hanging out in the locker room with people. You travel to other cities and see other players; do you ever get the sense that there are guys that struggle with that? I mean like, “Dude tone it down, we have a game here to play”. Do you ever get that sense, or does everybody deal with it in that same professional manner?

David Wright…

I would say that the majority of the guys, I’m sure you have your exceptions just like in any other profession that maybe some guys…and I’m not saying anybody on our team because we do a great job of staying focused and even though we fell apart there at the end it had nothing to do with what anybody was doing away from the field. It had to do with productivity on the field, so…but I’m sure, I don’t know of any specific cases, but just like any other profession I’m sure there are people that put socially or whatever the case maybe before baseball. But for me, personally, I know that, the New York Mets, we care tremendously about our production out there on the field and we are not going to let anything away from the field distract us.

Matthew Cerrone…

That’s great. Again we are talking to David Wright, the third basemen from the Mets. He has the David Wright Foundation, the 3rd Annual “Do the Right Thing” Gala in New York City on Thursday, November 15th.

Again, to learn more about the Gala, click here.

We are talking a little bit about this sort of adjustment, I guess you want to call ‘fame and sports,’ and all this kind of stuff. How much impact does the manager and the coaching staff, in general, have on those kinds of things? You know, keeping you guys focused. I’m sure towards the end of the season you saw in the media people questioning Willie and all that kind of stuff. How influential are those guys on you, especially younger players? How much do they account for keeping you guys in line and that sort of thing? Or is that completely overblown and overrated?

David Wright…

Well, I mean, first and foremost, we are adults and we know what we have to do, we don’t need a babysitter. But, with that being said, yeah, we have one of the best coaching staffs in baseball and they know how to deal with us as professionals, deal with us as men.

You know, if there were ever any problems, Willie would be the first one to come and let you know about it. I feel comfortable and I think the team feels comfortable with Willie.

It’s easy to point a finger when things are going bad and that’s what happened over the last couple of weeks. Things went south and the easy person to blame was Willie. When in essence, Willie doesn’t strike out with the bases loaded, Willie doesn’t make bad pitches, it’s us.

I think as players, we need to accept the responsibility and the finger should be pointed at ourselves because we didn’t get the job done. I still think we had ability-wise, we went through some injuries, but ability-wise we had one of the best teams in the National League and we played dismal down the stretch. So, we didn’t deserve to go to the playoffs, but that has nothing to do with Willie, the coaching staff or the front office, that has everything to do with the 25 players putting on jerseys everyday.

Matthew Cerrone…

Obviously, now in the off season, it starts up all the rumors. How closely do you follow those things? And do you have in your mind sort of this idea of “Wow I’d love to see them do this; I’d love to see them do that”? Or, do you not even concern yourself with that?

David Wright…

I think that is a separation that is needed. I think that I follow it more as a fan then I guess as an employee of the Mets.

Obviously I’m concerned with what goes on, but I’m not going to cross that line where I’m going to try to make judgments of what we should do or what we shouldn’t do. I think that’s check and balances that are needed in an organization. You can’t allow players to put the input of whom they want or who they don’t want, I think that’s what the General Manager gets paid for, that’s why those guys have jobs is to make those kinds of decisions and we go out there and try to play to the best of our ability.

I do follow what is going on as a baseball fan in general.

Matthew Cerrone…

If you don’t mind me saying, you can always read MetsBlog.com (Laughter).

David Wright…

(Laughter) Absolutely.

Matthew Cerrone…

That’s weird, it’s hard for us to think of you watching it as a fan, so I know you are a Giants fan and there are obviously other sports and stuff, so when you watch those things, you are considering the football, the Giants team do you start to find yourself reacting kind of the same way? Sort of me and the regular fans would sort of react when it comes to baseball?

David Wright…

Yeah, I catch myself yelling at the TV or screaming at somebody or things like that. Then I think to myself, “Wow this was the guy that was screaming at me in April when I was struggling.” Then it kind of quiets me down a little bit, but I’m a fan and I enjoy the passion that comes along with it.

Sunday’s I am plopped down in front of my TV for twelve hours a day watching football, so I am a fan and I catch myself screaming at the TV and screaming at certain players. Then I remember how it was in April when people were screaming at me and I try to tone it down a little bit.

Matthew Cerrone…

(Laughter) That’s cool… Besides the Gala, do you have any other cool off season plans, anything that you do to take it easy? Actually, what is your favorite thing to do during the off season that you can’t do in the regular season?

David Wright…

Watch my little brother play high school football down here in Virginia, so I’ve been trying to come home on the weekends as much as possible to catch…Obviously with us being in the playoffs last year, I didn’t get a chance to attend any of the games. This year my brother has been a line backer so I enjoy coming down and seeing my parents, seeing my little brother play high school football. That is special for me; he comes up to Shea as much possible, so I try to return the favor and go watch him play football.

Matthew Cerrone…

That’s awesome, that’s cool, and that’s definitely a silver lining. I saw you on John Stewart and you mentioned how you think one of the positive byproducts of not making the playoffs and the way that it all went down is that maybe you guys can learn from it.

Obviously at the end of the year everybody was really dejected, fans included. I don’t know if you have talked to different people during the off season so far, but do you think that’s realistic? Do you think you guys are going to attack spring training, and I use “attack” because it sounded to me like that what was in your eye. Do you think that is something that everybody will share?

David Wright…

I mean, I hope so, you know just being competitive, just being an athlete it bothers me. It is something that I have tried to close that chapter and look forward to 2008, but in the back of my mind that’s going to be there that we let our teammates down, we let our ownership down, we let our front office down, we let our coaching staff down and we let our fans down. So that is always going to be in the back of mind that I definitely don’t want that to happen again and I definitely don’t want to feel what I felt at the end of the year letting things slip away. I know that that has motivated me so far this season to get in the weight room a little earlier, take some extra swings a little earlier because I want to get going. I think you used the perfect word, “attack” spring training, I want to go out there from day one of spring training to the last out of the World Series next year and make sure that I don’t have that feeling again.

Matthew Cerrone…

The sense I got was that that would be Willie’s mindset also. He seems like a go getter kind of guy like, “Go get it.” You obviously come at it that way and I think the criticism a lot was that there were other players…and again don’t expect you to even really acknowledge it because I wouldn’t want you to disrespect any of your teammates…but the criticism in the media and among some fans was that there were some players that were maybe not taking it seriously. I can’t imagine that is the case, but for you personally, and I wouldn’t even really want you to comment on that. But for you personally, when spring training comes around, you have been with the team now for a little while, you aren’t necessarily a veteran, but I think that people look at you and at least publicly look at you to be a leader. What would you bring, or what do you think you will bring to the team to maybe inject that a little bit more and really get everybody on board and get everybody on the same page. Or is that not even really your responsibility, do you feel?

David Wright…

No, I think it’s my responsibility. I think that, although I am young and I don’t have nearly as much time or as many years in as other players, I think I can lead by example. I think that if I go out there I play the game hard, I play the game, you know give it 100%, leave it all out on the field from the first out to the last out of every game that people will follow my example. I am feeling more and more comfortable it seems like each day and you know being a leader on this team and maybe not vocally but showing the intensity, showing that we should go out there and play hard every out and hopefully that will rub off on the rest of the team. I think that we have a young core group of guys and we need to as a whole do a better job as leading by example and having that affect and rub off on the rest of the club.

Matthew Cerrone…

That’s great, man. Well, listen I appreciate your time and best of luck at the gala, I’m sure it’s going to be a great time. Again, I appreciate it, and enjoy your time in Virginia.

David Wright…

Thanks a lot, Matt, for having me.

To listen to the 15–minute discussion, click here, or use the audio player in this site’s left-hand column.

Wright will be hosting the David Wright Foundation’s Third Annual Do the Wright Thing Gala on November 15 in New York City. For more information or to purchase tickets, go here.

To subscribe to The MetsBlog Podcast, and receive new and old editions directly to your portable music device, use this url, or simply search MetsBlog on iTunes and click subscribe.

How do you feel as a fan, kind of keeping track of all this, how do you feel, do you want Alex Rodriguez on the Mets?

Regis Courtemance…

Simple question, not a very simple answer.  I have to tell you my official stance is I am kind of torn on it.  On the upside, he has been on the All-Star team the last eight years, potential homerun king, two-time Gold-Glove winner, I mean it’s Alex Rodriguez and all the things that come with that.  On the baseball side, it’s obviously an improvement.

On the con side, I guess, is that you have David Wright at third base, he is not going to left field now with Moises Alou.  Jose Reyes is a much better defensive player than Wright so it would seem that Wright would be bumped, but then where do you put him?  Do you put him on first base after trading away Carlos Delgado - what are you going to do there?  I am really torn, I don’t know what to say, I mean the Wilpon’s have money, that is not a concern.  They need to make a big splash with Citi Field coming up, I don’t see it not happening, but I don’t know if it will.

I really don’t know how to feel about it.

Mike Nichols…

I’m kind of the same way with Regis, but I am leaning more towards yes.  I mean, I’m concerned about moving Wright, he is still 24 years old and you don’t know if he is going to be going through some growing pains in a new position…From a pure baseball standpoint, it is a tremendous upside to bring Alex Rodriguez to the team.  First of all, it gives you more revenue for the team and to be able to spend more money on free agents, which I don’t want them turning into the Yankees and having them spend $200 million dollars a year on a ball club.  It is a tremendous upside, plus you know everything that Alex brings…

I don’t think I’m not in the camp that thinks that Alex Rodriguez is like a Dan Marino - he is just cursed, and he is a tremendous player and will break all the records and then never win a championship.  I think Alex hasn’t been on the right mix of team.  Those Yankee teams were never a good mix and they were never like they were in the late 90’s.  So, I’m still on the fence, but I am going more towards that I would love to see the Mets bring him here.

Matthew Cerrone…

I agree with the Marino comment, I don’t buy into any of that stuff, I think it is all circumstantial and you are right, I just think he was not with the right group of players.  I look at it like Peyton Manning - kind of the same thing; maybe he is him, who knows?  I feel the same way.

It’s funny, I sense we are all kind of undecided but leaning a bit in one direction, and I kind of feel the same way.  I can’t really wrap my head around it.  I see it from all points of view; I understand from the financial side what it can do for the network and what it could do for really just justifying an increase in ticket prices.  I mean, they are going to sell out, I think, Citi Field anyway, but bringing in somebody like that they can now do a little bit of an exponential increase there and justify it, which I’m sure they have no problem with.  So I can understand that, and I think that is more of an issue for them then it would be for the Yankees.  The Yankees could cut ties with him and still kind of not skip a beat.  The Mets could bring somebody in like that and it could have a significant impact.  But, one of the impacts that it could have unfortunately is the on-field and in the clubhouse.  I don’t think anybody would dispute what he would do for the offense, obviously putting in those numbers it’s like a fantasy player’s dream come true.  However, in the clubhouse and all that other ‘A-Rod stuff’ that comes along with him they will have to handle.  The Wilpons and the Mets don’t seem to take to those sorts of extracurricular types of players, so I think that is the big thing.

The question is – is he worth disrupting the team for be it moving Reyes or one of these kinds of things, I then assume you’d have to trade Delgado, it’s so many moving parts.  The question is – is it worth doing that from a financial point of view and from an on field and club house point of view?

Regis Courtemance…

I think that on the field, obviously, no question, he would bring a lot to the team.  Every body sees what he can do, what kind of numbers he can put up.  In the clubhouse, I have never viewed him as a leader.  I feel that he has always played for the name on the back of his jersey instead of the name on the front of the jersey and gone wherever the money is.  I think if he did come to the Mets, he brings the super-high expectations that would take a lot of pressure off the other guys perhaps, Reyes wouldn’t feel that he needs to shoulder the team, you saw him kind of decline in the last part of the season, maybe he was feeling a bit of that.

With A-Rod next year you can kind of sit back and know that the media and the cameras are all on him and just kind of go out there and play ball.

Mike Nichols…

I see it a little bit differently.  I don’t think it’s going to be the same dynamic it is as the Yankee clubhouse…He wanted to make it kind of – I’m a leader in this clubhouse and I think he tried to say all the right things that Derek does and things like that.  But, I think it would be a totally different dynamic because it’s…With the Mets and the Yankees, everybody knows the Yankees are always in the spot light no matter what they do.  The Mets could do what they did last year and the Yankees are still kind of in the back there and everybody is thinking about them.

I think it would be a totally different dynamic, I don’t think its going be what it was with the Yankees.  I still think he is going to have a lot of media attention just because of who he is.  It’s not going to be the same thing where it’s going to be this fight between him and Jeter over the leadership of that club house.  I just don’t see it; I think it is going to be a lot different in a Mets clubhouse.

Regis Courtemance…

I agree with you, and I don’t think it will be like that, that kind of struggle between him and Reyes, I just think it would take the pressure off of Reyes…

Matthew Cerrone…

I could see where he could kind of run cover for Reyes, I think that A-Rod would provide that type of lightening rod. I can see, and clearly just speculation, but I could see where somebody like Wright might get a little irritated.  It’s not that it’s Wright’s team or he is the captain, but he has definitely been groomed for that.  There are several quotes, you know, people talking about how it’s time for him to step up and that sort of thing, and it’s definitely the sense you get around the team.  I think he certainly showed that towards the end of last season and so I would be a little worried about bringing in that level of presence, that prima-donna kind of ego, whether that is fair or not, it is certainly the perception.  I would be interested to see how somebody like Wright, who is really ready to turn the corner, and how that would impact him.

Realistically, I still struggle with whether it’s even realistic that they could even pull it off.  Like I said before, there are so many moving parts; it makes me think that the whole conversation is kind of moot.  I would expect them to kind of go through the process and figure out if it’s realistic, but I think at the end of the day, I look at it and think that there is not a shot in the world.  I just can’t see having watched this team over the last couple of decades; it is just completely out of step with everything they’ve ever done, which actually might be a reason why it could happen.

Mike Nichols…

I think it could go down.  I think people had the same perception when they brought in Beltran and Pedro.  If the team got one or the other I think they would have been pretty successful that off season.  I don’t think that anybody thought we were going to both, the two biggest free agents that off season.

I don’t know, I think they can pull it off, in listenening to Jayson Stark this morning on Mike and Mike on ESPN, I think he has a good point; there are a lot of other factors, other teams that they are more self conscience about their financial stands as far as not having a regional network.  In LA, the owner is going back and forth if he wants to pay somebody double what Vlaidmir Guerrero is making.  I think what Jayson Stark said this morning makes a lot of sense that you come back to the Mets and they got that new network, they’ve got that new ballpark coming along.  I think they could make a big splash like this, but I also agree with you as far as all the moving parts, as far moving Wright and things of that nature.  I think that’s going to be the hardest decision part for the Mets, it’s not about the money anymore with them.

Regis Courtemance…

I agree with you that they can do it Mike, but I don’t think that they will because a few weeks ago if you asked me the same question if A-Rod was going to come to the Mets I would have said, “No way.”  Just because they have more pressing needs than finding an A-Rod right now.

You can take that money and build a whole new bullpen with it, you know?  Those are the kinds of things that I think the Mets should be focusing on in the off season.  I mean, with A-Rod out there, of course, there is going to be a lot of fodder for conversation…

Matthew Cerrone…

I guess I want to hope it is sort of a smoke screen, in the sense that I like to think they are focusing on other issues – bullpen, starting pitcher, maybe a big move, and some kind of a trade that would bring somebody in like that.  Because all the talk around them seems to be pitching, pitching, pitching, it was that way last season but the options really weren’t there.  I think this season they may be a little bit more realistic and I’d like to think that’s what going on.

Having done my best, I think like everybody else, to try to chase down what these guys are up to, I think it’s pretty clear that nobody has any idea of what they are doing.  I can’t believe how secretive and how well they’ve kept their agenda under wraps compared to previous regimens, I think they do an outstanding job with it and so who knows?

These types of rumors and things leak out and you never know really where they are coming from.  Again, signing A-Rod just doesn’t seem in-step with anything they have ever done in the past.  It makes me think that maybe they are trying to pull something else off you know?  We will see how that all plays out.

The other thing is, I can’t imagine why Alex Rodriguez would want to join the Mets.  I don’t understand why he would want to come to the National League, number one and two, I don’t know why he would try to break that record in New York.  He seems…they use this 24 and 1 bit, and maybe that’s the case…but, I think he has kind of shown that these records and this type of legacy and all that kind of stuff is important.  If that is the case and he is on that path, he’s going to break Bond’s record, do you want to do that under the spotlight of New York?  It seems to me that you’d rather do it in a smaller market, someplace that it’s a little easier to do it.

Personally, I think he ends up with the Giants – even though that is in the National League, it just seems to fit…all the parts seem to fit more than anybody else.  As Regis mentioned, Jayson Stark on ESPN.COM had referenced this morning that the Tigers are kind of fallback position, I guess he thinks…The Giants seem to be the favorite to me, that’s not what any of the odds makers are saying; they are all kind of leaning to the Angels, I guess.

Mike Nichols…

First off, I want to touch on that ‘24 and1’ aspect of it.  I don’t know if that is so much Alex or if that is the perception that Scott Boras puts out.  I mean, he is the one that is putting out the book of all of Alex’s achievements now and his future achievements.  I mean, that he could break Pete Rose’s hit record if he continues on this pace and I don’t know if that is so much Alex as it is Scott Boras is doing.

As far as where he goes, I don’t know, I always come back to the Mets; my heart wants him to come here because I think it would bring a lot to this team.  I think they would be a contender pretty much every season, but I don’t see him coming to the National League.  If anything he could go to LA, but I don’t know about that owner.  It’s difficult, it could be none of the teams that anybody is thinking about, like Texas was that one year.  I couldn’t even put a guess on where he goes.

He was definitely a happier ball player before New York and before the season began; there wasn’t a season that he was with the Yankees that he wasn’t getting booed.  So, I really had a strong feeling that he was going to leave after this year anyway and possibly go to a smaller market team.  Is LA a smaller market?  I don’t know, I really think that the Angels will make a big push for him…Will he go to the Dodgers, it’s a possibility now that Torre is most likely going there with Donny Basebal, so who knows?  I think those might be the two teams that he gravitates towards.  He can still have that celebrity lifestyle in LA, but without the hoopla of New York fans and New York media.  So that’s where I think he might be going.

Matthew Cerrone…

LA is definitely not a smaller market, but it’s a definitely a more carless market.  They have so many other things going on they just don’t seem to care, he could get away with a lot (laughter), let’s put it that way.

Guys, I really appreciate it.  Mike, thank you very much for joining us, have a great night.  Regis, thank you very much.  Take it easy, guys.

To listen to this 15–minute discussion, click here, or use the audio player in this site’s left-hand column.

To subscribe to The MetsBlog Podcast, and receive new and old editions directly to your portable music device, use this url, or simply search MetsBlog on iTunes and click subscribe.