Jun 19, 2023; Houston, Texas, USA; New York Mets manager Buck Showalter (11) walks in the dugout during the game against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
MLB: New York Mets at Houston Astros
(New York, NY) – It’s been a miserable season for the New York Mets.
When they hit, they don’t field. If there’s a rally, someone will make a baserunning mistake to cut it short. The starting pitching has been largely putrid, and the entire rotation is seemingly absolutely allergic to pitching into the sixth inning or later.
On top of that, the bullpen – missing Edwin Diaz – is completely ineffective, outside of de facto closer David Robertson, and maybe sometimes Adam Ottavino.
All of that has made life difficult for Mets fans, and manager Buck Showalter. But given the entirely sub par product put on the field by these Mets – in which every aspect of the team has helped lose games – it’s time we start calling him ex-manager Buck Showalter.
Many baseball fans will cry foul over this. They’ll tell you it’s unfair to blame the manager for a team’s struggles – especially one filled with so many veterans. Really, it’s incredibly popular these days to more or less eliminate managers from the equation when teams are struggling. Unlike other professional sports, perhaps especially the NFL, “head coaches” in MLB get a pass. That’s partially in response to the modern analytical approach adopted by MLB front offices, in which computers and statistical study drive lineup creation, and potentially even bullpen use.
It’s also entirely ridiculous. Of course managers impact the team’s performance, and can (should) be held accountable when teams struggle. What’s more, Buck Showalter is 67 years old, and toward the end of what’s been an impressive career. Sure, he’s never won a World Series, having led numerous clubs to the postseason. And that nagging gap on his resume could keep him from Cooperstown. But such sentimental thinking is completely inappropriate for a Mets team trotting out a $400 million payroll. There’s a small window of opportunity in which the team can turn this season around – and Buck isn’t the guy to make it happen.
During post game interviews, Buck comes across as patient, but also tired. He’s unhappy, but also lacking in urgency. He seems to trust the team will turn things around. And maybe they will. Over the next 13 games, the Mets play the Phillies, Brewers, Giants, and Diamondbacks. All would be playoff teams if the season ended today, and all are .500 or better. The Mets are a season-high six games under .500. If they go 6-7 over those games, they’ll be 40-47 about three weeks of the trade deadline. At some point you run out of time.
It’s not simply a “make a change just to make a change” idea either. Sure, the Mets bullpen has been atrocious overall this season. But the manager is also tasked with making sure his “best” arms are available at the right time – and in games in which the lineup puts up crooked numbers – you need to scratch out wins. Yet this month alone the Mets are 1-6 in games they’ve scored 6 runs or more. For the season as a whole, they’re 13-11 when scoring that many runs. That inability to secure outs from the bullpen, over a protracted period, speaks not just to middling talent but also horrendous bullpen management.
So who’s the replacement?
Carlos Beltran, a Mets legend who is serving in a front office role, is waiting as an in-season replacement option if Buck is fired. He was previously named team skipper before the Astros sign-stealing scandal derailed things. But A.J Hinch was suspended and has since become the Tigers manager, while Alex Cora was suspended as Red Sox manager, but has since returned. Who better to lead an in-season comeback, and settle some “unfinished business,” than the man who patrolled center field at Shea and later Citi for so many years?
Beltran 1
Perhaps Buck can’t cap off his career and punch his ticket to Cooperstown in Queens. But Beltran still can. And Mets fans would be absolutely thrilled. What can’t continue, at least while keeping a straight face, is more of the same.
