{"id":212777,"date":"2021-03-27T21:13:39","date_gmt":"2021-03-27T18:13:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/steve-cohens-world-series-talk-more\/"},"modified":"2021-03-27T21:13:39","modified_gmt":"2021-03-27T18:13:39","slug":"steve-cohens-world-series-talk-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/steve-cohens-world-series-talk-more\/","title":{"rendered":"#Steve Cohen’s World Series talk, more"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Steve Cohen’s World Series<\/a> talk, more<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

\n

Post columnist Steve Serby caught up with new Mets catcher James McCann for some spring training Q&A.<\/em><\/p>\n

Q: Who was your boyhood idol?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: Kobe Bryant. I grew up in Southern California, and I watched whatever sport was on TV. Baseball\u2019s always been my favorite sport, but it\u2019s just something about watching Kobe Bryant mature into the player and the man that he did, and watching just his drive, and the Mamba mentality \u2014 he didn\u2019t just beat you, he wanted to steal your heart and soul in the process. \u2026 That\u2019s kind of how I operate when calling the game<\/a>s, I don\u2019t just want to get you out, I want you feeling really down when I get you out, because I want you to feel like you don\u2019t have a shot next time coming to the plate. That\u2019s kind of that mentality of, \u201cI\u2019m not just gonna beat you, I want to embarrass you\u201d type mentality.<\/p>\n

Q: How do you do that as a catcher?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: We\u2019re not just here to get you out, we\u2019re here to put in your mind that every time you have to face is, you\u2019re in for a long series, you\u2019re in for a long game \u2026 making opponents feel like they\u2019re beat before they step in the box. You have guys like a [Jacob] deGrom or [Marcus] Stroman or [Carlos] Carrasco, guys like that, it makes it a little easier \u2019cause guys already fear having to step in the box off of guys that. There\u2019s battles to be won before a series, before a game, and if you can have that type of mentality, we\u2019re in for a dogfight, or we\u2019re in for a huge battle today, that\u2019s kind of the mentality that I want to bring, that teams know when they come to play the Mets, it\u2019s gonna be a battle.<\/p>\n

Q: The new owner, Steve Cohen, expects a World Series in possibly as soon as three years. Is that realistic?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: I think it\u2019s more than realistic. I think we have some unbelievable talent in our locker room. I\u2019ve said this several times already: Other than the talent, the thing that makes this group so special is just how quality the individuals are in that clubhouse. Guys truly do care about their own crafts, but they also care about each other. When you put talent and guys that get along in the same room, that\u2019s how you develop good team chemistry, and when you have talent and good team chemistry, you can go a long way. \u2026 The direction that he is taking this team, I think he\u2019s the right man for the job.<\/p>\n

Q: What drove you as a boy, and what drives you now?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: As a boy, my love and passion for the game. From as long as I can remember, I identified that I wanted to play Major League Baseball. I cold-turkey stopped drinking any type of soda in the sixth grade because I wanted to play in the major leagues. And what drives me now is I want to be great. I want to win a World Series. And I want to make my family proud. I\u2019ve got two little boys that have grown up. They\u2019re 3 years old and they love baseball. They sit there and watch games on TV. I want to make them proud. I want them to one day be able to say how much they enjoyed watching me play, and hopefully instill in them a desire to play a game that I love so much.<\/p>\n

Q: What makes Jacob deGrom, Jacob deGrom?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: His stuff is the first separator. He\u2019s one of a kind when it comes to stuff. But what takes him to the next level, his greatness, is how intentional he is with everything that he does. He\u2019s very, very detail-oriented, and he knows exactly how his mechanics are supposed to work, he knows exactly how things are supposed to feel, and he knows when something is not right, and he\u2019s able to make the adjustment very quickly.<\/p>\n

Q: How similar is he to Justin Verlander?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: They\u2019re very similar, they have a lot of different quirks that are very similar. I\u2019d say that the biggest difference between him is on their start day, you would never know it\u2019s [deGrom\u2019s] day to pitch \u2014 he\u2019s joking, he\u2019s having a good time, he\u2019s laughing, he\u2019ll talk to everyone. Whereas Verlander, on his start day, only wants to talk to the catcher and the pitching coach and whatever trainer was working on him that day.<\/p>\n

\"James
James McCann<\/figcaption>
Corey Sipkin<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Q: How would you characterize deGrom\u2019s mentality on the mound?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: He\u2019s gonna prove to you that he\u2019s better than you. He\u2019s keyed up there to compete and prove that he has better stuff than you do as a hitter, and he\u2019s gonna do everything he can to prove that.<\/p>\n

Q: How about Marcus Stroman\u2019s mound mentality?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: Stroman is very different from Jake in a sense that Stroman\u2019s very creative. He\u2019s almost like an artist out there how he\u2019s trying to disrupt your timing, and mix and match this pitch versus that pitch. They\u2019re similar in a sense that Stro\u2019s very knowledgeable of who he is as a pitcher, just like Jake is knowledgeable on who he is as a pitcher.<\/p>\n

Q: And Edwin Diaz?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: He\u2019s coming right at ya\u2019. He\u2019s saying, \u201cHere it is. Hit it. Let me see what you got.\u201d He\u2019s not afraid of anybody.<\/p>\n

Q: What is James McCann\u2019s on-field mentality?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: My mentality\u2019s pretty much been the same since Day 1: I\u2019m gonna prove you wrong. Tell me I can\u2019t do something, I\u2019m gonna do it. I\u2019m gonna do everything I can. I\u2019ll outwork you, I\u2019ll outthink you, I\u2019ll do whatever I have to do to beat you.<\/p>\n

Q: Where does that come from?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: It\u2019s probably something that\u2019s a little bit innate, I think I was just kind of born with that competitive drive, but it\u2019s something that I\u2019ve learned to harness over the years and use to my advantage. I\u2019ve never really been \u201cthe guy.\u201d In high school, I was in somebody\u2019s shadows, in college there were better-ranked prospects. It\u2019s kind of the mentality of putting the blinders on and being that blue-collar, hard worker that keeps his mouth shut and then lets everything play out the way it\u2019s supposed to.<\/p>\n

Q: What area behind the plate do you think you need to improve?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: I think just continue to improve my framing. I\u2019m of the mindset that I want to improve every part of my game. And then obviously, throwing runners out and blocking and all the other stuff I constantly work on as well. If I can continue to improve a little bit every year, then we\u2019re in a good spot.<\/p>\n