Swarzak: Mets have a winning ‘attitude’
PORT ST. LUCIE — New York is at its baseball best when both teams are postseason worthy. The Yankees certainly are after their run to one win from the World Series last October. The Mets need good health and more to get back to where they were in 2015. Reliever Anthony Swarzak, an ex-Yankee, was asked Sunday at First Data Field if he was looking forward to a Subway Series. He smiled and said, “Both teams got to be there, I know we will.’’ All right now. It’s on. The Mets want to show they are October worthy again and last year’s disaster was a one-year thing. The vibe at Mets camp is back to 2015. They believe they can return to October and that is a good thing for the Mets, and a good thing for New York. The summer Subway Series will be fun, too. Swarzak was one of the key free-agent additions made by general manager Sandy Alderson along with Jay Bruce and Todd Frazier. The Mets continue to look for a starter in the free-agent market. With new manager Mickey Callaway and new pitching coach Dave Eiland, the Mets are raring to go as pitchers and catchers officially report Monday and have their first official workout on Valentine’s Day. It’s impressive that so many Mets have arrived early. Zack Wheeler joined the group Sunday. Swarzak, 32, credits his time in Cleveland with Callaway in 2015 as setting him on the right path for his career, hitting the weight room and getting stronger. He said he is thrilled to be a part of this bullpen. He was 6-4 with a 2.33 ERA over 71 ¹ /3 innings last year for the White Sox and Brewers. “I think we have the ability to be one of the best bullpens in baseball. The stuff is there, it seems like the attitude is there, from everybody I talked to, everybody is already pulling for each other and asking how bullpen [sessions] are going and how everybody is feeling and that’s a big step,’’ the 6-foot-4, 215pound Swarzak said. “I’ve only been here a couple of days and all the bullpen guys are already talking and kind of getting ready to play some golf together.’’ It takes togetherness to succeed. “That’s what it takes,’’ Swarzak said. “It takes a group of guys willing to fight for each other and pull for each other when it’s the hardest and I’m excited to see what’s going to happen.’’ The bullpen will be anchored by Jeurys Familia, AJ Ramos, Jerry Blevins and Swarzak. The key is the starters com- ing back healthy and taking the pressure off the bullpen. Callaway will mix and match, with most of the save situations going to Familia, but this is an open-ended situation and the relievers are on board with this new approach.
“At the end of it all, all that matters is if you win the World Series or not,’’ Swarzak said. “So what does it matter if I am pitching in the ninth or pitching in the sixth? I’m going to be down there, ready to go. I’m working hard. When that phone rings, that’s all I worry about.’’
That attitude is the first step in getting a winning team, a playoff team, a World Series team together.
As for his brief stay with the Yankees in 2016, Swarzak said he has grown as a pitcher since then.
“I had some good games, I had some bad games. It was just a consistency thing,” Swarzak said. “It was one year removed from when I had my conversation with Mickey and it was that offseason that I really dedicated myself to getting into the gym and I felt stronger and I was bigger, and I didn’t know how to work with all that. I’m not making excuses. The stuff was there and I just had to get better at it and I wasn’t good enough at that time. I’m better now.’’
He sure is and we will see how much better the Mets can be this year, if they have what it takes to get to the postseason and beyond, and perhaps meet the Yankees in October.