Carroll’s Column: Steve Cohen’s Input on 2023 Mets

Steve Cohen meets with the media at Citi Field - Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports

NEW YORK — As we gear up towards the All-Star Break with less than a week-to-go, the New York Mets have recorded 38 wins and 46 losses — resulting in an 18.5-game deficit for the National League East division lead and for the final NL Wild Card spot? An eight-game deficit with five teams in front of them. 

Mets CEO Steve Cohen met with the media last Wednesday to give his input on the very disappointing 2023 season. Cohen, who prefers maintaining a low profile, felt he had to make a public appearance following Sunday’s comically disastrous Mets loss in Philadelphia.

They coughed up a three-run lead in the eighth inning when the Phillies incredibly scored four runs on one hit, thanks to shoddy defense and horrible relief pitching. In a season full of bad games, that one was egregious, even by Mets standards.

Cohen acknowledged from the outset of the press conference many fans would be disappointed he would not be firing anyone at this juncture, and stated manager Buck Showalter and general manager Billy Eppler would finish out the season. Cohen was not giving either man a ringing endorsement. He said it would be hard to attract the best talent to his organization in the future if it were perceived he fires employees at the first sign of things going south.

While Billy Eppler is being spared the ax for now, it was clear Steve Cohen is not impressed with him. Without any prompting from the media, he elaborated his desire to find a president of baseball operations to whom Eppler, or any general manager would report. The reason Cohen had to settle for Eppler running things until now, is better executives are currently under contractual obligations elsewhere. Milwaukee Brewers executive David Stearns, a native New Yorker who grew up a Mets fan, will be free of all encumbrances at the end of this season. Expect him to be working in Flushing in 2024. 

While he expressed faith the Mets’ play would improve from the putrid level of the first half, Cohen was careful not to make rash optimistic predictions. He acknowledged the best the Mets could hope for this season is a run at the last Wild Card playoff slot, and he expressed anger at the huge gap in the National League East standings between his team and the first-place Atlanta Braves.    

The biggest surprise of the Cohen presser was his attack on the state of the Mets minor league system. While he did not mention the team’s previous owners, the Wilpon family, by name, he said he was unaware of the lack of investment in technology and scouting relating to it at the time he purchased the team in November 2020. He cited the failure of the Mets to develop young pitching, long a team hallmark, in recent years.     

I asked Mets manager Buck Showalter to compare the late Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, for whom he worked in the early 1990s, with Steve Cohen.

Showalter praised Steinbrenner for giving him a chance to manage, but admitted his impetuous style caused self-inflicted wounds. He also thought Steinbrenner’s tantrums would not be as effective with today’s ballplayers. 

The Annual Fancy Food Show hosted by Speciality Food Association — “The Better Foods Show” 

The annual Fancy Food Show, run by the Specialty Food Association, for the supermarket and restaurant trade, took place last week at Javits Center. The term “fancy food show” is a bit of a misnomer because there were very few exhibitors promoting high-priced products such as caviar and Kobe steak. A more fitting name would be “The Better Foods Show.”     

Speaking before of caviar, Seasons (seasonproducts.com), best known for its sardines, was promoting its new lines of imitation caviar made from black seaweed pearls which it calls Caviart. They taste like traditional caviar but are not as salty and are a fraction of the price. Caviart is also rich in iodine and other nutrients. Seasons also displayed its new canned mackerel offerings.

Much has been written about the benefits of a Mediterranean diet, but most of us have no idea what that really entails. An American company, Wildfare (wildfare.com), produces extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, dried fruits, hazelnut butter, and red peppers which help cardiac health. 

Indian cuisine has become one of the most popular ethnic foods in the United States over the last 30 years. Food Earth introduced its line of ready-to eat organic vegetarian curry meals which do not need refrigeration. 

Northfork Bison (northforkbison.com) out of Montreal was grilling bison burgers which are leaner than its traditional hamburger cousin but just as tasty, and some may think, more so.   

You cannot think of burgers of any kind without thinking of ketchup. Heinz and Hunt’s dominate market share and supermarket shelf space. A married couple from Cleveland, OH, Matt & Lisa McMonagle, were tired of high-fructose ketchup, and decided to start Cleveland Ketchup (clevelandketchup.com) in 2018. Their ketchup has no corn syrup or any artificial ingredients, just tomatoes and spices. 

More on “The Better Foods Show” held at the Javits Center 

Lifeway (lifewaykefir.com) has been the leading producer of bottled cultured milk smoothies since 1986. Kefir is considered the cousin of yogurt, but it has more probiotics for digestive health. 

Longtime Queens residents will fondly remember Elmhurst Dairy which got its start in that Queens neighborhood in 1925. Elmhurst Dairy was New York City’s last milk processing plant when it closed in 2016. The following year, Elmhurst Dairy’s owner, Henry Schwartz, decided to revive his company in upstate New York. Elmhurst would still make milk but this time cows would not be needed. His company would concentrate on the burgeoning not and plant-based milk market. Schwartz rebranded the company as Elmhurst Milked (elmhurst1925.com). At the Fancy Food Show, attendees sampled oat nog and almond milk. 

Grown Up-Sodas: GuS

Twenty years ago, native New Yorker Steve Kersh, tired of sugary soft drinks and its diet cousins which had a lousy aftertaste, decided to launch Grown-up Sodas (GuS for short). Kersh’s goal was to produce sodas which contained juices, some cane sugar, and no caffeine. None of the sodas in his bottles would exceed 100 calories. At the Fancy Food Show, GuS (drinkgus.com) introduced its latest flavor, mango peach. 

Brooklyn Seltzer Boys and Fox’s U-bet Syrup 

Baby boomers who grew up in the Northeast will fondly remember the delicious concoction made of seltzer, syrup, and milk known as the egg cream. The decline of candy stores and luncheonettes because of high rents nearly doomed the egg cream. At the Fancy Food Show, representatives from Brooklyn Seltzer Boys (brooklynseltzerboys.com) made complimentary egg creams with the aid of another Brooklyn staple, Fox’s U-bet Syrup. 

Carnegie Deli’s Retail Food Brand

Speaking of New York institutions, the Carnegie Deli closed its world-famous 7th Avenue restaurant in 2016, but it lives on as a retail food brand. Its black and white cookies, delicatessen meats, and breads are popular nationwide. At the Fancy Food Show, its latest sinful dessert, chocolate covered cheesecake bites was introduced. Take that, Junior’s!

Belle’s Popcorn

Popcorn is a favorite snack of all ages except when a small kernel gets stuck in your teeth. Dallas-based Belle’s Popcorn (bellespopcorn.com) makes fun flavors such as Birthday Cake, Cookies & Cream, Cotton Candy, and Sea Salt Caramel. 

Kosherpalooza — New Kosher Foods Consumer Show at Meadowlands Expo

Kosherpalooza, a new kosher foods consumer show, took place last Wednesday at the Meadowlands Expo in Secaucus. Many exhibitors were showcasing CBD products. One of them, Bimble (drinkbimble.com) is a company which was started by Kew Garden Hills native Jay Moskowitz. He calls Bimble (a play on “bumble” as in bee) a sparkling honey drink which is free of preservatives and helps one relax. 

Tribute to Bob Shannon and Marvin Kitman 

A pair of New York legends passed last week. Former WCBS-FM afternoon air personality, Bob Shannon, who many felt was the wittiest DJ outside of Michael Jordan of air jocks, Dan Ingram, died last Wednesday after battling a long illness. He was 74.        

Marvin Kitman was Newsday’s television and radio columnist from 1969 through 2004. Whether he was praising a show or giving a scathing review, Kitman was informative and always funny. He was a journalism hero of mine. He died last Thursday at the age of 93.

You can read more of Lloyd Carroll’s columns posted weekly on The Queens Chronicle.