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Mets 2021 Preview Special: Rojas Talks ‘Coach Lindor,’ Pitching Rotation and More
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Opening Day is just two weeks away and the New York Mets look like it’s all systems go for a special 2021 season as the team looks to build on an optimistic offseason.
Manager Luis Rojas, who joined Mets radio broadcasters Wayne Randazzo and Ed Coleman for our 2021 Mets Preview Special on Tuesday, said it’s been an exciting spring in Port St. Lucie.
“Early, starting with our young prospects, that was exciting to watch them play,” Rojas said. “Now the guys that we acquired in the offseason, they’ve also been very exciting to watch on a daily basis in the clubhouse and the way they carry themselves and some of the things that they bring to the team not only on the field… I think everyone is working hard, getting to know these guys and seeing how they go about their business.”
Among the highlights of the offseason was the arrival of All-Star Francisco Lindor, who brings an energy and winning mentality to the team.
Rojas said they jokingly refer to him as “Coach Lindor” because he demands the best version of himself and his teammates every single day.
“He’s just perfect, that’s the best way to describe it,” Rojas said. “We all want to win and this kid is coming with a lot of winning experience, great abilities, and I know his personality. We spoke on the phone for the first time after acquiring him and immediately I felt that energy and that winning mentality and that’s exactly what he’s brought from day one.”
Another player getting plenty of attention is pitcher Carlos Carrasco, a late arrival to camp.
Carrasco has said he’ll be ready for Opening Day and threw for the first time Tuesday after elbow soreness left him sidelined for a few days.
Rojas said Carrasco threw 18 pitches and felt great, so they’ll continue to watch his buildup and progression.
“He feels he’s going to be there when the season starts and we feel that he’s going to be there when the season starts,” Rojas said. “So we’ll just follow through his progression. Next step is to throw a live in a couple of days and then we’ll see if we can include him in games.”
If Carrasco is ready to go for the first week of the season, that leaves many wondering what the final pitching rotation may look like.
Assuming Marcus Stroman, Taijuan Walker, Jacob deGrom and Carrasco make the list that begs the question: who’s in the lead for fifth spot?
“That’s a tough one,” Rojas said. “We know that (David) Peterson’s earned a right to be there. He pitched the other day, he let some pitches out over the middle of plate, but the stuff is there, he’s trying mid-90s, he’s got the slider, and now the changeup touch has gotten a lot better and he’s flipping the curveball every now and then as well. So he’s expanding his repertoire a little more and probably going to increase the percentages of some pitches just to have some more in the opposing hitter’s head. But you gotta say that he’s the top guy for that fifth spot but the race is tight cause you have a guy like (Jordan) Yamamoto, who’s been pitching consistently too, and you also have a guy like (Joey) Lucchesi who threw the other day and he cruised through two innings. So we’re looking at it to develop more in the next week and then we’ll be closer for that decision.”
Neil A. Carousso produces special coverage of New York Mets baseball for the WCBS Mets Radio Network.
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WATCH: NYC Mayoral Candidate Andrew Yang Calls on Cuomo to Step Aside, Lays Out Plans for City’s Recovery
By Lynda Lopez, WCBS Newsradio 880
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Andrew Yang, the leading candidate for mayor of New York City, is concerned local government is handicapped while state lawmakers in Albany investigate the mounting claims of sexual harassment and assault against Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
New York State Attorney General Letitia James and the feds are also investigating whether Cuomo intentionally underreported COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes.
Yang has sent a letter to Cuomo asking him to step aside while the investigations play out and he believes that remains the best path forward.
“We need someone who can do the work of the state and right now that does not seem to be Gov. Cuomo,” Yang said. “I sent a letter asking him to step aside and have the lieutenant governor assume that role pending the conclusion of the investigation, I think that’s the right move, I think that would make everyone feel satisfied that there is someone who is able to lead the state, frankly, not distracted by a continuous drumbeat of accusations and scandals.”
In a wide-ranging interview for the 880 Weekly Rewind, the entrepreneur and former presidential candidate told anchor Lynda Lopez that the governor and his scandals have become a distraction and are getting in the way of the city’s recovery.
“The job of the mayor is to deliver for the people of New York City and in order to deliver for the people of New York City, you need to have a good working relationship with the governor and the legislators in Albany. If you don’t have that, then you can’t deliver at high a level,” Yang said. “I talked to a state legislator last night and he said that obviously everything is focused right now on these proceedings against the governor and a lot of other business. Ordinarily right now they’d be focused on the budget, which is enormously important, but that’s not happening right now. So the interests of the city and the state are aligned in the sense that the city is the economic engine of the state, but we need state legislators to be doing their jobs in order for us to be able to do our jobs so it’s one reason why I think Gov. Cuomo stepping aside is the right thing because we need them focused on the business of the state and that affects the city every day.”
Cuomo on Friday again denied the sexual harassment allegations and insisted that he would not resign, despite growing calls from both political opponents and allies to do so.
The governor said he doesn’t want to let the allegations be a distraction, and will remain focused on the state budget, the state’s recovery, and ramping up vaccination efforts.
With his sights set on Gracie Mansion, Yang is fully focused on jumpstarting the economy and bringing the city back.
“We’re down 60 million tourists and those 60 million tourists supported 300,000 jobs, about half of the jobs we’re missing, so the first order is business is to let everyone know that New York City is open, that we’re welcoming tourists back,” Yang said. “The second thing that everyone can also see around us is we’re missing 82% of commuters and when someone doesn’t come into the office, that’s not just that company, that’s the security guards, the cleaning staff, the food truck operators, the retail storefronts that ordinarily serve those commuters. We need to let companies have the confidence to say to their workers, ‘You need to come back to the office’ because that’s vital for New York City’s recovery.”
Yang said that he’s been talking to CEOs who are desperate to get people back as soon as the vaccine is distributed broadly enough.
But that will require building public confidence that it’s safe to come back and Yang said the best way to accomplish that is by letting people know that everyone around them has been fully vaccinated.
“There are two straightforward possibilities number one is to have an app on your smartphone that’s a vaccine passport,” Yang said. “Israel, which is actually ahead of us on this curve, has actually started distributing bracelets to people where you just have the bracelet and you show the bracelet. It’s like New York City is the biggest VIP section of a club in history where you get the bracelet so you can walk on in. But that’s the kind of measure that we need to adopt and champion for people to feel confident that they’re perfectly safe cause everyone around them has already been vaccinated.”
Neil A. Carousso produces The 880 Weekly Rewind with Lynda Lopez Friday nights at 7 PM on WCBS Newsradio 880. Listen to this week’s full show on the media player above.
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Small Business Spotlight: How a Bed-Stuy Wine Shop Became the Neighborhood Everything Store
By Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — A small wine shop in Bedford-Stuyvesant is tailor-made for the Brooklyn community it serves.
Happy Cork opened its doors in March 2019 – a year before the coronavirus spread in New York City and changed its business model. Fast-forward two years and Sunshine Foss is displaying her sunny disposition on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight, sponsored by Dime Community Bank.
Foss told Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso she rallied her community amid the business shutdowns and offered to sell their products on the new website she designed herself. She was in survival mode.
“When we opened, it was literally us trying to get people in the doors,” she said.
An average of just 10 people a day patronized Happy Cork for the first few months of the pandemic.
Liquor stores were deemed an essential business, so Foss used that designation to support minority and women-owned businesses in Brooklyn.
“We’re like, ‘Okay, we’re going to have you in the store. We’re essential. You’re going to be essential,'” she recalled saying. “A lot of businesses have been able to grow even just because of that.”
Her wine shop became a destination both in-person and online. She currently boasts dozens of locally sourced selections from women and Black owners who have struggled to stay open, sharing the story of each product she sells.
“We want to make sure that you get that Happy Cork experience,” Foss said.
“If you’re not coming into the store, we’re going to send you an experience in the box.”Along with wine orders, Happy Cork ships coasters, glassware, tea, chocolate, keychains and merchandise from local artisans and vendors.
“Now, with opening up delivery and shipping and a beautiful online presence, we have definitely been able to kind of capture a lot more of an audience so business has been great,” she said.
But, Foss credits her vendors and local business owners for what she has learned along the way. She channels her Bed-Stuy community in brand and spirit.
The Happy Cork website reads, “There’s a difference between a place where you are welcome and a place that was built with you in mind.”
Foss told Connolly and Carousso she wanted to make her shop less “intimidating” from other urban wine shops that featured bullet proof glass where she places flowers.
“It is really a space that was built with the community in mind,” she said.
“It was built for the community to come in (and) feel welcome.”See how Happy Cork is supporting other Brooklyn businesses on the Small Business Spotlight video above.
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Small Business Spotlight: Software Tailored for Restaurants Hones New COVID Sales Strategy
By Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Restaurants are trying to get control over their destiny.
SevenRooms, co-founded in 2008 by Joel Montaniel, created backend software for restaurants and hospitality companies to streamline ordering and reservations. Now, they are more of a data-driven technology company helping restaurateurs gain repeat customers in a precarious time for eating out.
“The most significant change that restaurant operators need is to have their own platform where consumers can order delivery directly from them,” Montaniel told Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight, sponsored by Dime Community Bank.
He emphasized that control over takeout and delivery – the most common pandemic pivot in the food industry – will increase profit margins by saving commission many owe to third-party delivery apps such as Grubhub, Postmates, DoorDash and Uber Eats.
The second key for restaurants to recover, Montaniel believes, is capturing customer data internally, which SevenRooms’ software does, to upsell those who have placed orders. The technology company recently introduced digital menus to establishments that tracks order history.
“If you had opted into their marketing database, the SevenRooms system will automatically email you again, and say, ‘Hey Neil, here’s a complimentary tzatziki when you order delivery or pickup directly from us,’” he hypothesized using Carousso as a customer in his example. “So, it’s a great way to leverage what you’re actually doing inside the restaurant and use it as a benefit for you to order pickup and delivery or come back into the restaurant when you feel comfortable doing so.”
Montaniel told WCBS 880 that 64 percent of SevenRooms users prefer ordering directly from an establishment rather than third-party apps. He said many are eager to support their local eateries since the industry was largely shutdown due COVID-19 and remains open with strict safety restrictions.
That loyal customer base is essential to restaurants’ recovery. The SevenRooms co-founder and CEO labeled Domino’s Pizza the “gold standard” because they own their own application for contactless ordering, pickup and delivery.
SevenRooms counts Wimbledon, Live Nation Entertainment and Topgolf among its hospitality clients.
“They’re thinking about the world the same way, which is how do we create the best, most optimal, and now recently, safest guest experience and I think technology can play a role in that to make everyone feel safe,” Montaniel said of how they are looking to reinvent themselves as local venues reopen to fans for the first time in about a year.
See how SevenRooms is helping this hard hit sector survive on the video above.
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Veterans Organization Builds Remote Talent Pipeline to Fortune 500 companies
By Neil A. Carousso
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — The transition from the military to the workforce is often a challenge for veterans, but the pandemic has exacerbated that challenge. A non-profit organization based in Manhattan is taking up the task to virtually match vets and major U.S. companies.
“We’ve got some super smart people who enlist in the military and we wanted to create those pipelines for them to get into these Fortune 500 companies,” said Lt. Col. Michael Abrams, founder of FourBlock, who is currently serving in the United States Marine Corps Reserve.
FourBlock prides itself on preparing veterans for a career after service. The average salary for its national members is $92,811, according to the non-profit’s 2020 data.
“The companies that we work with are the ones who pay good salaries,” Abrams told WCBS 880’s Neil A. Carousso.
Since the pandemic hit, FourBlock pivoted from in-person networking events to virtual workshops and training on remote interviews.
Maxwell Acker-DeOliveira was looking for a job after recovering from COVID-19 in California where he was visiting family in May. FourBlock helped him prepare for remote job interviews with Deloitte in June – a process that happened rather quickly.
“I’m a social creature,” said Acker-DeOliveira, explaining Zoom meetings presented an obstacle for him to get over.
The Marine sergeant had been used to leading a six-man sniper team for five years. His deployment concluded in March 2018.
“You kind of have to push through that wall,” he said, adding, “You either network or you stay on the bench at Deloitte.”
Acker-DeOliveira was hired at the Big Four accounting firm within the month as a technology services optimization consultant.
Abrams said hiring managers understand they can trust veterans to take the initiative while working remotely.
“They’re not going to just sit around and wait to be told what to do,” he said, continuing, “They’re going to kind of figure out what needs to get done and get it done.”
Abrams emphasized it’s “trust and resiliency,” experience gained through their military service, that makes veterans attractive hires in the pandemic.
Watch the video above for more on this story.
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