Buck Showalter deflects credit to everyone with a Mets role
Mets pitcher Trevor Williams works against the Phillies during the second inning in the first game of a doubleheader at Citizens Bank Park on Saturday in Philadelphia. Credit: TNS/Rich Schultz
PHILADELPHIA
Buck Showalter will do this thing sometimes when he thinks a player’s contributions are being overlooked.
You’ll ask him about the offense, as a reporter did after the Mets won Game 1 of Saturday’s doubleheader over the Phillies, and his answer will pivot completely, a conversational sleight-of-hand that trains the eye somewhere else.
In this instance, Showalter wanted to mention Joely Rodriguez and Adam Ottavino, who pitched three innings of scoreless relief in the 8-2 victory. In the past, he’s done the same thing with Saturday’s Game 1 starter, Trevor Williams. And when Francisco Lindor was struggling in June — playing through a finger injury — he’d make sure to give him credit, too (whether anyone asked or not).
And sure, the whole thing might not go exactly where you expect, but Showalter is making his point perfectly clear: Seasons are won and lost in the details, and sometimes the details look like a guy eating up innings, or a nifty defensive stop, or an extra hustle play that doesn’t make the game recap.
The Mets wound up with a split Saturday night when the Phillies’ offense awoke in Game 2 against David Peterson with a 4-1 win.
But as the Mets stare down the stretch, they can hang their metaphorical hats on a cumulative effort that’s meant to build momentum despite the various travails August and September will bring.
Williams, a pitcher without a defined role who Saturday said he knows his role, is as good an illustration of that as any. A career starter, he’s mostly worked out of the bullpen this year except in moments of minor crisis (in this case, a doubleheader compounded by injuries to Carlos Carrasco and Taijuan Walker). His four scoreless innings in Game 1 extended his streak to 24, a career high, and lowered his ERA to 2.84.
“I know my role and I know we have a tremendous starting rotation, a tremendous [crew] out of the bullpen, middle of the bullpen,” he said. “Everyone has fallen into their role nicely. We’re in the middle of August right now and there’s truly no question mark in the games.”
The thing is, though, there are question marks. It’s not certain when Carrasco will return, and though Walker is on the mend, he’ll miss his start Sunday, meaning that Jose Butto is slated for his major-league debut.
But maybe what Williams means is that, as a group, the Mets have a clear direction, and a “role” is simply “whatever you need to do to help.”
In Peterson’s case, that meant staying on the mound as long as he could, though he clearly was working without his best stuff. He allowed three runs and eight hits in 4 2⁄3 treacherous innings in Game 2 in which the IP felt as important as the ER. The Mets’ bullpen is taxed, after all, and in the midst of a fairly ridiculous stretch of four games in less than 48 hours.
In fact, when the offense was able to tack on four runs in the ninth inning of Game 1, turning a three-run lead into a seven-run advantage, the focus was less on the batters rounding the bases and more on the closer who got to retake his seat in the visitors’ bullpen. (Wasting Edwin Diaz? Now that would be a tragedy.)
Attention to detail isn’t limited to the pitching staff, either.
This year, the lineup doesn’t necessarily dominate, it pesters. In Game 1, four of the Mets’ six RBI hits had exit velocities well below the major-league average, which hovers around 88 mph, according to Baseball Savant. Against starter Zack Wheeler, balls left their bats at a modest average of 74.4 mph, their contact-heavy approach continuing to prove exhausting.
Fundamentally, they were sound, something that was highlighted in the fourth inning of that first game. When the Phillies attempted to steal home during a double steal, Lindor made a heads-up play to gun down Bryson Stott at home. Sure, it was a good move, but it also underlined some key differences in these two teams.
In the Mets’ 7-2 victory on Friday, Starling Marte and Lindor executed the same play, except on the other side. The Phillies botched it and Marte scored.
“Good plays like that make your team look crisp and sound,” Showalter said. “It’s something [Lindor] embraces. He’s very much into the game within the game.”
Showalter then pivoted and mentioned how Jeff McNeil is the same way. Then he pivoted again and mentioned how good it is to have young players learn from their example, presumably meaning Brett Baty, who played third in both games.
Of course, McNeil and Baty had nothing to do with the play at the plate, but Showalter wants to make sure you noticed anyway.
Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.
