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Mets reporter Coleman sits down for Q&A

WFAN personality on '15 run and what lies ahead

NEW YORK -- People are still buzzing about how the Mets finished and what they should do this offseason, and WFAN Mets reporter Ed Coleman was in the MLB.com studios Tuesday to talk about what bats the club needs, which team now owns New York, the National League East favorite for 2016, infield versatility and the psyche of Mets fans. Here's a rundown of his collective thoughts on MLB Network's "MLB Now" show and off-air chat:

Q: Did that 90-win World Series season really just happen?

Coleman: When I look back at it, my expectations were that they could be a playoff team if things went right. To see it come together the way that it did, it was a little bit bizarre. It wasn't exactly textbook, but that's what made it a lot of fun. I was really happy for Terry Collins, too, because for basically four-plus seasons, he had worked with a roster that wasn't quite Major League, and all of a sudden he got some pieces and it all came together.

Q: What was it like for you to see the Mets' fan base come alive again?

Coleman: It was a huge story during the year -- the fans coming back to Citi Field. For four seasons in a row, Augusts and Septembers there, there was nobody at Citi Field. I always felt bad, because I think it's a terrific park -- better than Yankee Stadium, as good as a lot of parks around the country. So that was great to have fans come back and experience that.

Q: What's the one biggest thing to watch for with the Mets this offseason?

Coleman: How to replace the bats that they're likely to lose. I think they've turned the page on Daniel Murphy, and Yoenis Cespedes is going to price himself out. You do have Michael Conforto, who they didn't have all of last year. They got him basically the last three months of the season, and he was great. They'll see how some other kids work -- Dilson Herrera, hopefully a healthy Travis d'Arnaud for a year.

What they have to do is get a little bit of offense in there. I don't think they necessarily have to go get a big bat now. [General manager] Sandy Alderson, I thought he did a great job at the Trade Deadline, bringing in Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson. And also the pitchers that he brought in. The needs he had, he filled them and it worked out great. I also think he feels he can get another big bat at the deadline next year.

Q: Would the Mets trade a Steven Matz or even a Matt Harvey to get a big-time bat?

Coleman: Certainly Harvey, [Noah] Syndergaard, [Jacob] deGrom, Matz, they believe that is their future, they're not going to go anywhere near that. . . . I thought they started to turn the season around when Kelly Johnson and Juan Uribe walked into the locker room. Not that they had the production Cespedes did, but they were a different team after that.

Q: Everyone picked Washington to win the pennant in 2015. What about 2016, now that the Nationals have hired Dusty Baker as manager?

Coleman: To me, the Mets are the team to beat. They proved that in 2015. Washington, I never totally l believed in them, partly because of the personality conflicts. Their GM, Mike Rizzo, he's a good GM, but he's very hands-on, and I think that works to his detriment a lot. . . . They have some great talent in there, but at the same time, if you don't let them control things, it's a dangerous situation. They're a very dangerous team, but they're going to have a new look, no Jordan Zimmermann, for starters. They have a lot of questions.

Q: So, is this the Mets' city now?

Coleman: Everyone always asks me that. I've always felt that New York is a National League town. You wouldn't know it because the Yankees have owned it for the last 20 years, basically. But I do think there's an opportunity there for the Mets to kind of win back the town, let's put it that way.

Mark Newman is enterprise editor of MLB.com. Read and join other baseball fans on his MLB.com community blog.
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