The torch has been passed. The next era of great Mets catching is upon us. We got all three in trades. And both Carter and D'arnaud from Canadian teams.

When looking at past Mets golden ages, they've always had great catching. Carter in the 80's. Piazza in the late 90's. This trade will go down in history as one of the finest Mets transactions.

The catcher is the GENERAL of the entire team and we just picked up a great one. Kudos to Sandy for getting the job done.

Let's see what he can actually do in the majors before putting him in the same breath as those all time greats.

I'm also concerned with the injuries. Injuries for a catcher don't go well. Look I want this kid to be good. You know he'll probably be my favorite play if he's good because I love catchers. They control the game.

Offensive stats aren't everything. There's a presence and a confidence about D'arnaud. He's got BALLS. That's what you want on a team. A gritty Backman type that's tough and isn't afraid of a fight. You want to go to war with those types. It isn't just about how many HR's a guy can put up.

These are warriors fighting other warriors on the other team. And you want guys who aren't shaky and who aren't feeble when they fight. Not everything comes down to stats. It's about the character of the team.

When you add strong characters and strong warriors, the stats come naturally because the team is dominating other teams as a unit.

Have you met D'arnaud? What is his personality?

I am just hoping he turns into a steady 260-270 type type hitter while averaging 15-20 HR a year in pitcher friendly citi.

I think with all the hype about this kid those numbers are realistic. But who knows, could be injury prone. I do think he does need a solid backup as a mentor to help him the first few years as well especially with all the young pitching...we need a veteran presence in there somewhere.

He hit like .330 In the minors I expect his batting average to be higher

Naturally, there's a presence and a confidence in D'Arnaud---he was originally signed by the Phillies.

You must be young because you didn't mention our first great catcher, Jerry Grote, and we got him in a trade also.

That has nothing to do with anything. The Phillies signed a lot of players without all that.

Yeah that was before my time.

I thought so, but even my niece and nephew, who were born after 1986 know who the catcher of the 69 Mets was.

You or their parents taught them well.

Combination of all of us doing the right thing.

Oh of course I know who Grote is. I know his stats, I used to play computer baseball sims with the 69 Mets as a 10 year old. I know the old Mets pretty well.