NL DIVISION SERIES: METS VS PHILLIES

October 5, 2024

Carlos Mendoza

Citizens Bank Park

New York Mets

Pregame 1 Press Conference

Q. What went into taking Brazoban off?

CARLOS MENDOZA: Going through potential scenarios in length and who could give us a lot of pitches and things like that, we thought that it was best, we have Megill, obviously Senga. It wasn't an easy one, but we decided to go that route.

Q. The thought process with Winker over J.D.

CARLOS MENDOZA: Yeah, I mean, facing Wheeler, we look at his splits and righty, lefty. J.D. is going to play a huge role in the series. Especially they have two left-handed pitchers, and then out of the bullpen they have some left-handers, as well. The fact he's not in the starting lineup, he's going to play a big role for us this series.

Q. Winker looked pretty banged up the other day. Did you have to check with him?

CARLOS MENDOZA: Yeah, I checked with him yesterday. He came in, got treatment. He's good to go.

Q. Kodai had mentioned about not wanting to mess things up with the rotation and the team. What did you have to hear from him in order to know that wasn't going to be an issue for him just mentally?

CARLOS MENDOZA: The first thing we wanted to hear was that he was ready to go, that he was feeling a hundred percent, that there was no issues, no hesitation, by any means, with any of his body parts or anything, and it was just the conviction. That was the biggest thing that we wanted to hear from him.

And then as far as like messing with some of the other guys, I had conversations with some of them, with some potential scenarios. But when we first heard from Senga and when we found out that he was potentially going to be a possibility, we didn't know how the last year was going to play out. We didn't know if Quintana was going to end up pitching. We didn't know if Peterson was going to be used out of the bullpen.

But I think it came down from Senga being healthy and he telling us, I'm ready to go, so...

Q. With this insane travel and schedule you've had lately, what was it like to have a day off yesterday?

CARLOS MENDOZA: It was nice to have a day off. A few guys came in, pitchers came in, play catch, and some of the guys that needed treatment came in. But it was much needed because of what you said. Intense games, the traveling, the back and forth, doubleheader, celebrations, and just everything that we went through. So being able to get here and have kind of like a reset day for everyone was really good.

Q. Before the rally in the 9th inning the other night, in your mind just because of that travel and the wear and tear, were you concerned that the tank was empty or getting empty?

CARLOS MENDOZA: Before the 9th?

Q. Yeah.

CARLOS MENDOZA: No, I never thought of that. And like I said, I think it was yesterday, the whole time, I had a good feeling. I didn't feel like we were out of that game. And when I was looking at who was coming up, I was like, we need to get Pete at the plate.

So I never felt like this is over or the energy is down or we emptied the tank and we've got nothing left. That was never the feeling in the dugout. The whole time, you know, from my end, it was we need to get Pete at the plate, and we did.

Q. Good to hear from Senga yesterday that you have him for 200 pitches, if necessary?

CARLOS MENDOZA: I was watching it live, I started laughing (laughter). Somebody asked, when was the last time you threw 200 pitches? I don't know, when was the last time anybody threw 200 pitches.

Q. For as little as you know about him, would you put anything by him based on who he is and what he's capable of?

CARLOS MENDOZA: Trying to get to know him as much as possible. He's funny at times. He's very meticulous. He's very detail oriented. Yeah, it's been kind of hard because at Citi Field he was around, but then he was never around when we were going -- even during the regular season.

But, yeah, I mean, like, we trust him. Like I said yesterday, the fact that he was the one approaching us, he make me and all of us feel better about the decision.

Q. This year and years past before you arrived the Mets faired pretty well against Wheeler and Nola. Why do you think that is?

CARLOS MENDOZA: I don't know. The one thing I know is that they're nasty. They're pretty good. It's not an easy matchup. Wheeler, he's been doing it for a lot of years. Nola, the same thing. There's a reason why they're such a great team. They have those two at the top of their rotation, that's a deep lineup. That's a deep pitching staff. They have a great manager and great coaches.

Back to Wheeler and Nola, they're really good at what they do.

Q. Similarly to what Dave asked, not having necessarily the longest relationship with Senga, how do you kind of know when maybe he's done or when you can kind of push him in a first start back?

CARLOS MENDOZA: Yeah, like I said, I think we have an idea of what we want to do here. And I'm going to have to make a decision. I'll talk to him, I'll ask him. But we have -- like I say, we have an idea of what we're doing there.

Hopefully we get to a point where that relationship continues to develop and there's more conversation, kind of like what I have with the starters, that I have the whole year, and I know when to push and when not to. I don't think I'm there with Senga.

Q. How much do you rely on Jeremy Hefner, given he knows Senga pretty well?

CARLOS MENDOZA: A lot. A lot. I've been having those conversations with him. When he pitch against the Braves, the only outing, I was going off Hef because he's the one, like you said, who had him last year, and they have a pretty good relationship. And I'm anticipating that being the case here.

Q. What has Hef told you about how Senga works in games?

CARLOS MENDOZA: As far as?

Q. Just his tells when he's getting fatigued or how he likes to approach certain situations?

CARLOS MENDOZA: Yeah, you'll watch the game and you watch how he's throwing the baseball, how he's coming out. Is he locating. Some of his pitches, the movement and things like that. And then are there stressful pitches. And when he comes in you'll talk to him.

Like I said, Hef is going to have a lot of say in there.