An interview with my favorite restaurateur, Gus Livaditis

As a writer, you want your readers to be engaged and passionate and there is perhaps no reader at the site more passionate than Gus Livaditis, also known as Texas Gus. Whenever you read a comment or post by Gus, you know you’re getting his true reaction. He never says something to be edgy or controversial – Those are his true feelings on the matter.

One of the many things I like about Gus is that even though he has his favorites – like Wilmer Flores – and will vigorously defend them, he won’t avoid criticizing them if he feels they’ve earned his disdain. Many will try to avoid criticizing their guys or try to turn that into an opportunity to praise something else about their favorites. Gus won’t do that. Instead, he’ll hold them to the same standard he’d hold anyone else. It’s a refreshing honesty.

I had the pleasure to meet Gus when he was in North Carolina. He came a long way to meet up with Metsense and me in the middle of the state – think it was Salisbury – where we watched a Mets-Nationals game. The Mets got destroyed in that game but it was such a good day. Gus was incredibly warm and generous in person. You think you get an idea of what a person is like in real life but you never really know for sure. But I have no doubt that Metsense would second my take on both how that day was and how much it would be great to see him again.

On to the interview!

How old are you?  Under 25, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55+ 

57

Do you live within an hour’s drive of Citi Field?

Not anymore, but there was a time that I lived less than 20 miles away, in Brooklyn, but those miles could take two hours.

What are your memories of the first Mets game you saw in person, whether Polo Grounds, Shea Stadium or Citi Field?

My first game was Jerry Koosman against the Cardinals. The Mets won 4-1 and we sat at the mezzanine level behind the third base dugout.

How did you get involved with Mets360?

Was excited during the 2015 season and was looking for other sites to talk Mets because Metsmerized had become overrun by escapees from Matt Cerrone’s Mets Blog site when it sold off to SNY. I enjoyed the conversation at Mets360 and it made me want to be a better commenter because I realized commenters brought something knowledgeable to the table, not just blowing smoke or being trolls.

How surprised were you by the 2024 season?

The thing that surprised me the most was how many regulars really had bad seasons, according to expectations. Nonetheless, once the Mets showed that they had the pitching, I knew that if they made the playoffs, they could do damage. I can’t say that I was confident at 24-35, but at that point I just wanted to see good baseball.

Explain why you're bullish on Griffin Canning

Not really bullish on the pitcher, but rather willing to give him a chance. The positives are that he did throw 171 innings, and that means he did enough things right. His LOB% was abnormally low, so he had some bad luck, his K% was down close to 33% from his normal, and he doesn’t throw many ground balls so some lab work on his off-speed stuff may be helpful. Don’t really know too much about him but David Stearns has earned our trust. I don’t think a GM has had that since Omar Minaya. You don’t like it?

You were not a big Terry Collins fan. How do you rate the job that Carlos Mendoza did as his first year as the Mets' manager?

That is a difficult question to answer. There were many times that us fans felt a manager screwed up but he got away with it. There are many times that we all read the thinking regarding a move a manager made that seemed odd, and understood the logic. But any coach that players will run through a brick wall for will be successful in the long run.

My biggest problem with Collins is that he overmanaged the game. He and Tony LaRussa were the two managers that the three-batter rule was created for. Also, his lack of trust in his younger players kept him for being successful. Old managers don’t trust youngsters but it’s the energy of youngsters that gives a team fire. I guess my second-biggest problem with Collins was that because he was a failed middle infielder, he gave Ruben Tejada extra rope when it was obvious Tejada kept hurting the team by being in the lineup and whenever Sandy Alderson would bring up Flores from the minors, he wouldn’t play him and had Fred Wilpon covering for him. That article written by Marc Carig in late September was something that should have come out sooner, but writers need a team’s favor. Now that he was moving on to The Athletic and the season was ending, Carig had nothing to lose. I still believe all that most of that was fed to him by Alderson, but which Alderson? Don’t forget, Dave Hudgens upon being fired by the Mets and before becoming the hitting coach of the successful Houston Astros, said that Alderson’s hands were tied.

How's the restaurant treating you?

It’s a business that is hard on the body. Many hours, always on your feet, but you have to love it to tolerate it. You have to relish the pressure of the busy time and the advantage/disadvantage of being the one that has the pressure of success or failure. Metsense’s idea stays in my mind…

You follow the minor leagues – any theories why Mets' pitchers have such struggles when they reach Triple-A?

Anything you think they should be doing differently? I looked at that at year’s end, and the Royals had the best AAA ERA (4.21); so, it seems like many pitchers struggle. In fact, the Syracuse ERA was middle of the pack. I don’t understand why they don’t use the MLB ball throughout all leagues so the pitchers get used to it. But, how do you explain the lack of success by the Syracuse pitchers and also the lack of success from the Syracuse hitters?

Where do you stand on using an automated strike zone in some capacity in MLB games?

Love it, but only as a challenge system. I grew up vomiting over the calls Tom Glavine, Steve Avery and Greg Maddux used to get. While some people felt they deserved getting strikes on pitches two or three inches outside because they were established vets, I wasn’t liking it. Can you explain to me how “that was good for the game”?

What's the one thing you'd like to see changed with how the Mets operate?

Being in New York, the pressure cooker to always succeed is enormous. It sucks for the players to have to deal with 20 beat writers when they could go to another team, make the same money, pay less taxes, and have such a better working experience. I understand that MLB wants all writers to have access to the clubhouse, but something needs to be done. I remember Michael Conforto talking about that and I understood why he was as good as gone. I don’t think he will ever want to play in New York again. I remember a study about 10 years ago showed the Mets franchise as having the most draftees in MLB at that specific time. However, due to impatience and public pressure, the Mets were always getting rid of their young players for more established veterans looking for “sure things” and those young players went on to be important parts of other organizations.

As for the team itself, I would like to see the young players have an open position every year. I recall how Robinson Canó and Jed Lowrie were brought in because Jeff McNeil was “still unproven” after a successful second half in 2018. How did that work out? Now, people want to move Mark Vientos, or bring in Alex Bregman or Nolan Arenado, or just say that he is unproven; same thing! I say leave the kid alone. I want to see both Brett Baty and one of Luisangel Acuña/Ronny Mauricio on the active roster as backup infielders. I don’t like signing the AAAA veterans for depth but let’s see what the Mets do.