David Stearns has drawn criticism from some Mets fans with his comments about the many definitions of success, and Keith believes New York's new president of baseball operations simply needs to get acclimated to the fact that he's not in Milwaukee anymore.
"The fans and the media are times 100," Keith said. "What you say will be picked up by 100 outlets…there will be eight different articles about what you say when you say something.
"He's already gotten way more smoke than his time in Milwaukee."
Mets fans expected a lot more after Steve Cohen took over as owner, but so far, one 100-win season ending in a first-round playoff exit is all they've gotten. So patience isn't at a premium, and Stearns needs to figure out how to preach it while telling fans what they want to hear when it comes to expectations of competing.
"In 2024, under Steve Cohen, with these fans expecting a team that's gonna compete…two years ago, they won 101 games, so they expect to compete," Keith said. "I feel like David Stearns is somewhere in the middle now. He wants to still speak like he's in Wisconsin, but he knows he can't. he's learning how to speak to the New York fans, and he hasn't figured it out yet. Maybe by the end of this year, or 2025, or 2026, when I think the Mets are gonna be a contender…I think that's when you see the three years of Steve Cohen get flipped by David Stearns. I do think he's a smart guy who knows what he's doing."
