Buck Showalter hasn’t exactly endeared himself to the local media, or for that matter, New York Mets fans. Showalter, who has been a media darling for most of his managerial career, has started to get testy with local beat reporters, who have made some inquiries about his questionable decisions as of late.
And his interviews with the media aren’t making much sense as is.
On Sunday, while his bullpen melted down in a 7-6 loss to the Phillies, the 67-year-old Showalter inexplicably decided against using his key relievers—Adam Ottavino, Brooks Raley and David Robertson—in a crucial series finale. Coming into Sunday, Robertson had pitched twice in the last 10 days and only threw 13 pitches on Saturday, while Ottavino had pitched just twice in the last week.
Showalter opted to use two arms—Josh Walker and Jeff Brigham—who weren’t on the Opening Day roster instead. It went as expected, but Showalter maintained that he didn’t have his best guys available, as he was saving Roberston for a ninth-inning appearance that never came. He also said that Ottavino was unavailable, though the veteran reliever relayed a different answer to MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo. And Showalter later said he would’ve had Ottavino pitch in extra innings if needed.
During the Mets’ 2-1 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers, Showalter elected to use Robertson, Raley and Ottavino, despite his team trailing from the sixth inning on.
“No, those guys weren’t available (Sunday),” Showalter said postgame, as he was pressed on his logic for using his high-leverage relievers in a game the Mets were losing. “We deemed them before the game. So they were available (Monday). They weren’t available (Sunday). So I don’t know what else we could’ve done, so that doesn’t make much sense.”
Buck Showalter mentioned how tonight's bullpen usage might affect tomorrow… which of course is at least partially because of what happened yesterday.
Here is Showalter's response when asked if, by that logic, he regrets his bullpen usage yesterday: pic.twitter.com/yDSMJQHXWS
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) June 27, 2023
Those in the world of Major League Baseball reacted to Showalter’s troubling remarks on social media:
This is like last year when he said he was basing his starters in the wild card round around who was gonna be available in the NLDS. How’d that work out? https://t.co/pDirlXYFiL
— Ryan (@rvbread) June 27, 2023
extremely not what you want https://t.co/5YXlSgVnqg
— Paul (taylor’s version) (@pcollett88) June 27, 2023
Buck could've cleared the air about yesterday & explained further, but instead he doubles down. It's dangerous for any Manager/Head Coach to try & skirt around a question from the NY-sports media beat wolves who know what's up most of the time! #LOLMets #LGM #Mets #MILvsNYM https://t.co/sNXamJZmqn
— NYCSporty X (@NYCsporty) June 27, 2023
But he's lying. Ottavino himself said he was available. NO accountability from the manager https://t.co/G1cmzn2Vgh
— Sportstown East Coast (@SportstownEC) June 27, 2023
I have ever hated a manager more than I hate buck showalter https://t.co/RDhSUUbbFI
— Jason Tegno (@jabot98) June 27, 2023
https://twitter.com/Sam_Neumann_/status/1673516836279709697?s=20
He’s so unserious about winning this season. https://t.co/hp7mLsQgA0
— Danny King (@DannyKing___) June 27, 2023
Robertson was warming up , and ottavino said he was available 😂 this guys pathetic https://t.co/44pQaMNmRk
— Draft Brock Bowers (@donnie3114) June 27, 2023
ADAM OTTAVINO HIMSELF SAID HE WAS AVAILABLE. DAVID ROBERTSON WAS WARMING UP TO PITCH THE BOTTOM OF THE 9TH. https://t.co/wMyZe8rp3M
— #WriteInNimmo (@WriteInNimmo) June 27, 2023
https://twitter.com/henryisgold/status/1673516121595551745?s=20
A day later and still taking zero accountability. Robertson was very much available and Otto was too. #Mets https://t.co/WPirCOlOlv
— Sam Wilbur ⚾️ (@samwilbur) June 27, 2023
[MLB.com]
